Match summary:
VfB raced out of the traps and took an early lead through Chris Führich, but the visitors’ afternoon soon took a turn for the worse as Führich and Marc Oliver Kempf were forced off through injury. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side let the game slip through their grasp after that, looking vulnerable in defence and lacking incisiveness at the other end. Augsburg grew in confidence and VfB were unable to turn the tide.
The goals:
7th minute: VfB make the perfect start. Wataru Endo tees up Führich on the right corner of the penalty area and the number 22 cuts inside and finds the bottom right corner from the edge of the box.
30th minute: Reece Oxford rises highest inside the area to head home a corner from close range and restore parity.
53rd minute: Jeffrey Gouweleeuw capitalises on hesitancy inside the VfB box following another Augsburg corner, nodding past Fabian Bredlow to make it 2-1.
72nd minute: VfB again fail to clear a set-piece and Alfred Finnbogason manages to steer the ball into the path of Florian Niederlechner, who makes it 3-1 to the hosts.
81st minute: Finnbogason finishes off an Augsburg counter-attack from the edge of the box to complete the scoring.
Reaction:
VfB head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo: “After taking the lead we weren’t precise enough and we let Augsburg find their way into the game. We obviously lost two players through injury in that period, which was unfortunate. In the second half we were unable to threaten in front of goal and didn’t defend well for their goals. That’s how we gave the game away.”
Daniel Didavi: “Bad luck with injuries isn’t a valid excuse today. We could have won the game. Looking at the first 20 minutes, there’s no explanation as to why we let the game slip through our hands the way we did.”
Waldemar Anton: “We started the game very well but sat back after taking the lead and produced our worst performance of the season. We need to move forward now.”
