FCA fall to narrow defeat against Dortmund

Despite their best efforts, FCA were left empty-handed at the end of their Friday night game against Borussia Dortmund. In the first fixture of matchweek 9 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season, Augsburg lost 1-0 to BVB.

FCA head coach Sandro Wagner made several changes to the starting XI for his side’s third home game in just six days. Finn Dahmen was back between the sticks in place of Nadiljko Labrovic and was wearing the captain’s armband. Chrislain Matsima was also fighting fit again and lined up alongside Noahkai Banks and Keven Schlotterbeck at the back.

There was a special atmosphere under the floodlights at a sold-out WWK ARENA. Before the match, a special tifo was unveiled in the Ulrich-Biesinger stand in honour of the FCA fans Max and Dani who passed away in a car accident ten years ago. The opening stages were marked by Dortmund fans throwing tennis balls from the away end and an even contest between the two teams on the pitch. After defeats to Leipzig and Bochum, Augsburg were determined to show a reaction in front of their home fans.

Not much changed as the game progressed. FCA sat deep and looked strong in the tackle. As a result, BVB struggled to carve out any real opportunities. That was up until the 37th minute, when Chrislain Matsima headed the ball into Han-Noah Massengo. Serhou Guirassy pounced on the mistake and smashed the ball into the back of the net from around eight yards out to make it 1-0 with the first and only shot on target in the first half.

FCA unrewarded for efforts

The second 45 got underway with neither team making any changes at the break. Julian Brandt and Carney Chukwuemeka looked to extend Dortmund’s advantage with a couple of attempts from range (55’, 58’). Although they still trailed by one goal, FCA remained active but lacked the necessary impetus in the final third to truly threaten the opposition. In the 66th minute, substitute Anton Kade tried his luck from a tight angle, but his effort took a deflection off a Dortmund defender’s leg. Less than five minutes later, Elvis Rexhbecaj got the ball on the edge of the box and would have gotten a shot off had it not been for a last-ditch BVB tackle.

The challenge marked the beginning of a breathless final 20 minutes. Kade looked to be in the right place at the right time again, but he wasn’t quite able to direct Fabian Rieder’s low cross goalwards. Alexis Claude-Maurice’s follow-up was also blocked (76’). In the 82nd minute, Sandro Wagner reacted with an attacking substitution, bringing two target men on in the form of Phillip Tietz and Samuel Essende. Nevertheless, FCA still could not find an equaliser against an increasingly passive Dortmund side. The scoreline remained 1-0 up until the final whistle.

On Sunday, 9th Novemver (17:30 CET), Wagner’s side will travel to face off against VfB Stuttgart.

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