FC Augsburg travelled to the MHP Arena for a clash against VfB Stuttgart to round off the penultimate matchday of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. FCA were unable to break their losing streak in fixtures against Swabian sides, however, falling to a third defeat in a row in local derbies. After conceding early on and having Samuel Essende sent off a few minutes later, Augsburg tried to hold their own with a man down, though shipped three more goals in the second half.

Head coach Jess Thorup made one change to the starting XI from last weekend’s 3-1 loss against Holstein Kiel. Marius Wolf was unavailable with a knock, so Robert Gumny replaced him in the line-up. Frederik Jensen also missed out through injury - academy talents Juan Carbrera and Felix Meiser replaced him in the squad.

The game got off to a nightmare start for Augsburg. In the third minute, Jamie Leweling profited from chaos in FCA’s defensive ranks and got a shot off. The ball crashed against the bar to the relief of the away supporters. Despite the early scare, VfB continued to push for an opener. In the eighth minute, FCA keeper Finn Dahmen was called into action to once again thwart Leweling. However, he parried the ball straight into the path of Atakan Karazor, who smashed it into the back of the net to make it 1-0 to the hosts.

The visitors suffered another setback shortly afterwards. Samuel Essende looked to win the ball back off Angelo Stiller, though his tackle made contact with the midfielder above his ankle. The referee initially elected to book Essende, but the decision was upgraded to a red card following a VAR check.

Despite going a man down, FCA showed heart and looked to get forward. Robert Gumny (30’), Cédric Zesiger (38’) and Alexis Claude-Maurice (40’) all had promising opportunities. At the other end of the pitch, the home side constantly threatened to extend their lead. Nick Woltemade (35’) and Enzo Millot (36’) were both denied by strong saves from Dahmen. Things got dicey for FCA again just before the break. Woltemade skilfully bypassed Augsburg’s defence. His shot was blocked by Jeffrey Gouweleeuw’s last-gasp block and cleared off the line by Cédric Zesinger (45+3’).
 

Stuttgart use their advantage

After the interval, Stuttgart set the tone and quickly added to their lead. In the 52nd minute, Woltemade got their second of the game. In a moment of individual brilliance, the attacker breached FCA’s defensive line with a deft turn before firing the ball home. Finn Dahmen tried to get a hand to his driven effort, though was powerless to stop it.

Whereas FC Augsburg were able to weather the storm and threaten at the other end of the pitch despite being a man down in the first half, Stuttgart controlled the flow of the game for the most part in the second 45. In spite of another series of strong saves, FCA could not prevent the home side from adding a third. It would be Enzo Millot to make it a three-goal cushion with ten minutes left on the clock. Striker Ermedin Demirović had initially hit the upright with a shot which rebounded back into the danger zone. The ball would eventually fall to Millot, whose left-footed effort found the bottom left corner. There would be one more sucker punch seven minutes later. An inch-perfect cross from Führich found Demirović who headed home to make it 4-0 to VfB.

Following the loss, only one more game remains for FC Augsburg this season. Next Saturday (17th May, 15:30 CEST), they’ll take on Union Berlin back at home to try and cap off their campaign with a win.

Unsere FCA-APP

Jetzt herunterladen!