Sunday 31 October 2021
VfB goes under in the end
Augsburg counters early fright with a flood of goals
FC Augsburg is waiting a long time for a victory in the Bundesliga, and it quickly looks dark against VfB Stuttgart. But Augsburg comes back with power and in turn brings the guests a mini-crisis.
The header specialists at FC Augsburg have finally found a way out of their crisis against VfB Stuttgart. With two goals after a corner and two striker hits, Augsburg’s Markus Weinzierl brought home the 50th Bundesliga victory as coach in the Fuggerstadt at 4: 1 (1: 1). With the acclaimed second success of the season, the FCA moved up to one point on VfB, but is still on relegation place 16. Despite leading after two forced personnel changes in the first half, the Stuttgart completely lost the rhythm against vehemently racing Augsburg.
Stuttgart’s Chris Führich took the lead in the seventh minute in front of 17,500 spectators. Reece Oxford (30th) with his third header goal in the last four competitive games and captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw (53rd) also headed after a corner from Arne Maier gave the FCA the first sense of achievement after four previously winless league games. Joker Florian Niederlechner (72nd) and Alfred Finnbogason (81st) even increased – each with their feet. It is Augsburg’s highest win of the season.
The injury bad luck remained true to the Stuttgarters. They had to do without defender Konstantinos Mavropanos and were forced to make two substitutions for goal scorer Führich and Marc Oliver Kempf in the first half.
Augsburg club boss Klaus Hofmann had ruled out a personal discussion about Weinzierl and manager Stefan Reuter during the week. Reuter once again left Weinzierl in no doubt. “We are convinced of the quality of the squad and also very convinced of Markus Weinzierl, with whom we have experienced the most successful time at FC Augsburg over four years,” said Reuter at DAZN. At the same time, he admitted his own mistakes. “If you have to change coaches every year, then not everything can have gone optimally,” said the former international.
Nice words – but they did not prevent the Stuttgart leadership. Führich pulled in from the right side, left Mads Pedersen standing and finished with a dry left-footed shot from 17 meters. It was VfB’s earliest goal this Bundesliga season. Fifteen minutes later, however, Führich had to be substituted for Tanguy Coulibaly with ankle problems.
The Stuttgart played forward with speed. The Augsburgers, on the other hand, weren’t really dangerous at first – until Oxford rose to the sky. After Maier’s first successful corner, he didn’t give Waldemar Anton, who had just recovered from a corona infection, a chance in an aerial battle.
VfB had to replace the next injured player with complaints in his thigh against the increasingly determined approaching home side in Kempf (39th), Clinton Mola got his chance.
Maier then took the corner again, again a defender was on hand – this time Gouweleeuw, who nodded off from close range against the undecided goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow. The Augsburg fans went into raptures when the substitute Niederlechner from an acute angle and Finnbogason raised their feet.