Augsburg and Schalke faced each other at the Veltins-Arena on Sunday as part of the Bundesliga return. The finally tally came down to 0:3, with Augsburg winning against Schalke’s lack of scoring.
It took Augsburg just six minutes into the game to break the deadlock. Alessandro Schöpf upended Rani Khedira on the edge of the Schalke area, leaving Eduard Löwen beautifully whipping the ball over the wall. The ensuing free-kick into the top corner marked their opening goal.
Despite the early set-back, Schalke still dominated for much of the first half for large periods, though coming seriously close to scoring only once.
Former Manchester City player Rabbi Matondo used his rhythm to drive off the left flank into the Augsburg box, but Andreas Luthe was well down to the close-range effort of the Welshman.
Roles were then reversed after the restart, as initiative was taken by Augsburg. A strong save from Markus Schubert was brought by Florian Niederlechner, with Marco Richter following suit just past the hour.
Schubert made a free-kick flying stop from a trademark Philipp Max, before Augsburg-owned (but playing for Schalke) forward Michael Gregoritsch sent a header wide, with the clearest opening of the second period for Schalke.
It proved to be a costly mistake as Sarenren Bazee, an Augsburg substitute, made the most of the lax defence, before slotting beyond Schubert. Cordova’s injury-time strike put the seal on Heiko Herrlich’s first win as coach, with a third goal to their name.
Thus, Augsburg scored thrice with a stunning free-kick by Löwen, Noel Sarenren Bazee’s first Bundesliga goal, and a late effort by substitute Sergio Cordova.
This put an end to Augsburg’s trend of losing matches, which had been running on for six games. Augsburg moved seven points clear of the play-off relegation spot.
However, Schalke’s similar dry spell of defeat has extended to nine games now.
Schalke 0-3 Augsburg
Goals: 0-1 Löwen (6′), 0-2 Bazee (79′), 0-3 Cordova (90’+1)
Line-ups
Schalke: Schubert – Kenny, Sane, Nastasic, Oczipka – McKennie (Mercan 73′), Serdar (Kutucu 56′) – Caligiuri (c) Boujellab (76′), Schöpf – Matondo (Raman 76′), Gregoritsch
Unused subs: Nübel, Miranda, Kabak, Burgstaller, Thiaw
Out: Harit (ligament), Mascarell (groin), Stambouli (match fitness), Todibo (ankle)
Coach: David Wagner
Augsburg: Luthe – Framberger, Jedvaj, Uduokhai, Max – Gruezo (Oxford 83′), Khedira (c) – Richter, Löwen (Moravek 70′), Vargas (Sarenren Bazee 59′) – Niederlechner (Cordova 83′)
Unused subs: Koubek, Lichtsteiner, Suchy, Gouweleeuw, Baier
Out: Finnbogason (knee), Giefer (foot), Schieber (calf)
Coach: Heiko Herrlich
