By Rich
FC Augsburg stunned visitors FC Bayern München with a 2:1 win in the Bavarian derby. Augsburg struck first in the match, when Mads Petersen volleyed the ball past Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer in the 23rd minute. Augsburg then extended their lead in the 35th minute, when Andre Hahn headed the ball off an Iago cross. Bayern answered just 3 minutes later with a goal from Lewandowski, but it was not enough to avert Bayern from suffering just their second league defeat of the season. The win means that Augsburg have now beaten Bayern just 3 times in the Bundesliga, and Bayern have not managed a clean sheet in their last 9 away matches. Although Bayern will still sit at the top of the table at the end of the weekend, their loss keeps them within 2 matches of the clubs with the next-best records this season: Borussia Dortmund and SC Freiburg. Dortmund will host Stuttgart on Saturday, and coach Marco Rose is contending with a long injury list. His squad is coming off a 2:1 loss to RB Leipzig, and the club is feeling Erling Haaland’s injury absence. Stuttgart, for their part, are also struggling with the absence of their star striker, as Sasa Kalajdzic has been out of action since Matchday 2. Nevertheless, the statistics clearly favor Dortmund in this match, as Dortmund have won their first 6 Bundesliga matches at home under Rose, and Stuttgart haven’t won away in the Bundesliga since beating Rose’s Gladbach squad in the penultimate weekend last season. Freiburg will host Frankfurt on Sunday, and are coming off their first loss of the season, against Bayern 2 weeks ago. Freiburg continue to boast the league’s best defense, having conceded just 9 goals, and scoring goals has been perhaps Frankfurt’s biggest problem this season. Frankfurt’s joint top scorers, Filip Kostic, Jens Petter Hauge, and Rafael Borre, have just 2 goals each. The biggest match this weekend, though, is that between the two Berlin clubs later on Saturday. The hosts, FC Union Berlin, are enjoying another solid, if not spectacular, season, and are led by striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who has 7 goals so far. He will be assisted by Max Kruse, who was absent for 3 fixtures. They will face Hertha’s Krzysztof Piatek, who was out of service the first 5 matchdays with an ankle injury suffered at the end of last season. Hertha have yet to win a Bundesliga match when playing in Union Berlin’s Stadion an der Alten Försterei, and Union have only lost 2 of their last 27 home matches in the Bundesliga.
FC Augsburg stunned visitors FC Bayern München with a 2:1 win in the Bavarian derby. Augsburg struck first in the match, when Mads Petersen volleyed the ball past Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer in the 23rd minute. Augsburg then extended their lead in the 35th minute, when Andre Hahn headed the ball off an Iago cross. Bayern answered just 3 minutes later with a goal from Lewandowski, but it was not enough to avert Bayern from suffering just their second league defeat of the season. The win means that Augsburg have now beaten Bayern just 3 times in the Bundesliga, and Bayern have not managed a clean sheet in their last 9 away matches. Although Bayern will still sit at the top of the table at the end of the weekend, their loss keeps them within 2 matches of the clubs with the next-best records this season: Borussia Dortmund and SC Freiburg. Dortmund will host Stuttgart on Saturday, and coach Marco Rose is contending with a long injury list. His squad is coming off a 2:1 loss to RB Leipzig, and the club is feeling Erling Haaland’s injury absence. Stuttgart, for their part, are also struggling with the absence of their star striker, as Sasa Kalajdzic has been out of action since Matchday 2. Nevertheless, the statistics clearly favor Dortmund in this match, as Dortmund have won their first 6 Bundesliga matches at home under Rose, and Stuttgart haven’t won away in the Bundesliga since beating Rose’s Gladbach squad in the penultimate weekend last season. Freiburg will host Frankfurt on Sunday, and are coming off their first loss of the season, against Bayern 2 weeks ago. Freiburg continue to boast the league’s best defense, having conceded just 9 goals, and scoring goals has been perhaps Frankfurt’s biggest problem this season. Frankfurt’s joint top scorers, Filip Kostic, Jens Petter Hauge, and Rafael Borre, have just 2 goals each. The biggest match this weekend, though, is that between the two Berlin clubs later on Saturday. The hosts, FC Union Berlin, are enjoying another solid, if not spectacular, season, and are led by striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who has 7 goals so far. He will be assisted by Max Kruse, who was absent for 3 fixtures. They will face Hertha’s Krzysztof Piatek, who was out of service the first 5 matchdays with an ankle injury suffered at the end of last season. Hertha have yet to win a Bundesliga match when playing in Union Berlin’s Stadion an der Alten Försterei, and Union have only lost 2 of their last 27 home matches in the Bundesliga.
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