Borussia failed to take their chances on Matchday 16 as they were held to a 1-1 (0-1) draw by FC Augsburg, although the stalemate saw them extend their impressive unbeaten home run to 29 games.

A sell-out crowd of 81,360 at Signal Iduna Park watched on as Augsburg took the lead against the run of play in a first half dominated by Dortmund, with Dong-Won Ji pouncing on the rebound from his initial effort to put the visitors 1-0 ahead (33). Shortly after the break Kagawa played in Dembélé for the equaliser (47) and BVB piled on the pressure but were unable to complete the comeback despite having 23 shots to Augsburg's eight.

The scenario
Fifth-placed BVB, unbeaten in 28 consecutive home games stretching back to April 2015, were playing host to 12th-placed Augsburg at Signal Iduna Park. The home side had only lost one of their previous nine in the Bundesliga while the visitors, who had surprisingly sacked coach Dirk Schuster a week earlier, had only suffered defeat in one of their last six outings. The Black and Yellows went into the game as clear favourites having taken 23 points out of a possible 30 from their last ten meetings, winning on seven occasions.

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Marc Batra appeared to be struggling before Augsburg's opener and did not come out for the second half.

Personnel matters
Coach Thomas Tuchel made two changes to the XI that started the 2-2 draw with Hoffenheim last time out, bringing in Kagawa and Merino in place of Bender (bench) and Reus (suspended). The hosts were without Guerreiro (overexertion), Piszczek (adductors), Bürki (broken hand), Subotic (fitness), Sahin (knee problems) and Rode. Augsburg were shorn of Callsen-Bracker (rehab after fibula fracture), Caiuby (knee), Bobadilla (calf), Finnbogason (inflammation of the pubic bone) and Max (thigh).

Tactics
The two coaches gave their teams demanding tactical remits. BVB took to the field in a 3-1-3-3 formation which saw a back three of Ginter, Bartra and Merino protected by Weigl in defensive midfield, with Pulisic, Götze and Schmelzer the offensive midfield trio and Dembélé and Kagawa supporting centre-forward Aubameyang in attack. When the hosts did not have possession Schmelzer dropped back to expand the back three to a back four and Götze slotted in alongside Weigl in defensive midfield.

After around 20 minutes Tuchel switched to a 4-1-4-1 with Ginter, Bartra, Merino and Schmelzer in defence, Weigl in defensive midfield and a four-man offensive midfield of Dembélé, Kagawa, Götze and Pulisic behind Aubameyang. Towards the end of the first period Dembélé and Pulisic (now right) switched flanks. Augsburg went for all-out defence without possession, adopting a 5-4-1 in which Ji, the sole frontman, received and held up the balls that had been won in defence and played forward before trying to pick out a team-mate. When the visitors had the ball, though, they switched to a 4-1-4-1 formation.

The match & analysis
Statistics can certainly be annoying at times. A BVB side playing in front of a sell-out home crowd clearly had the upper hand in almost all areas that mattered in the first 45 minutes against Augsburg, with 10-6 shots, 73% possession, a 58% tackle win rate, a pass completion rate of 85% and a chance ratio of 6-1; yet the scoreboard at the interval read 1-0 to the visitors.

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Mikel Merino made the starting XI.

While Götze's deflected shot was denied by the woodwork (9) and Augsburg's goalkeeper Marwin Hitz made a string of strong saves to deny Aubameyang's effort (12), Ginter's header (27) and an attempt from Kagawa (30), the visitors took the lead with their very first chance. Bartra played a misplaced pass to Hinteregger, who was dispossessed as five Black and Yellows converged on him. But the ball fell to Moravek, who reacted quickly before playing it into the path of Ji and although the South Korean was denied by Weidenfeller at the first attempt, he slotted home the rebound (33).

It was a tough break to fall behind against an Augsburg side that looked relatively solid at the back. Shortly before the interval Aubameyang had two chances to equalise but narrowly missed the first (38) and was denied by Hitz on the second (41).

After the break Bender replaced Bartra as BVB showed even greater attacking intent and levelled through Dembélé just two minutes after the restart (47). Kagawa picked up the ball and threaded it through as the Frenchman burst in on the right to slot inside the far post with Teigl hot on his heels. An excellent goal, and just the boost the hosts needed.

Winkmann waves away BVB penalty claims

Aubameyang (50), Kagawa (59) and Merino (66) all spurned opportunities to add a second for the hosts, while referee Guido Winkmann inexplicably chose not to point to the penalty spot following a foul on Kagawa by Verhaegh (56). The Kerken-based official had already let off Kohr for the unlawful use of an arm on Bartra in the penalty area (44). By the time the hour mark arrived, BVB had increased the shots ratio from 10-6 to 15-7. At the other end Ji had fired wide from 14 metres following a counter-attack (49).

Aubameyang fires narrowly over

The hosts, who had replaced Kagawa with Castro (71) and Dembélé with Schürrle (81), gave it everything they had in the closing stages as Aubameyang fired over the bar (77) and was then denied by Hitz (88) before Schürrle missed the rebound (88). But perhaps they could consider themselves lucky that Altintop didn't snatch a stoppage-time winner for the visitors (90+2).

Prospects
BVB's Bundesliga campaign will resume with two away days at the start of 2017, with a trip to Bremen on 21 January (15:30 CET) to be followed by a match in Mainz on 29 January (17:30 CET). The first home game will be against RasenBallsport Leipzig on 4 February (18:30 CET).

Teams & goals