Despite leading a Champions League group that featured Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, and Newcastle, Dortmund’s league form has suffered, with just one win in seven games since October.
Borussia Dortmund’s challenges in the league persisted on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Augsburg.
Last year’s runners-up find themselves trailing by ten points behind the league leaders, Bayer Leverkusen. The leaders have a game in hand, scheduled for Sunday against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Dortmund coach Edin Terzic lamented his side’s poor finishing, saying “we were close today, but we weren’t successful and that’s very unsatisfying”.
Ermedin Demirovic opened the hosts’ scoring after 23 minutes, skillfully pushing off a challenge from Nico Schlotterbeck before calmly slotting the ball home.
The Dortmund players appealed for a foul, but the referee, following a VAR review, allowed the goal. “I don’t want to comment on refereeing decisions, but all I’ll say is we had a different opinion than that of the referee,” said Terzic.
Donyell Malen later scored for Dortmund, courtesy of a clever backheeled pass from Niclas Fuellkrug, nutmegging the Augsburg defender. In the dying moments of the game, Dortmund’s Julian Brandt had a late chance to secure all three points, but his injury-time shot went straight at Augsburg goalie Finn Dahmen.
Dortmund’s weekend standing hinges on Hoffenheim’s result against RB Leipzig; a Hoffenheim win could see Dortmund finishing in sixth place by the end of the weekend.
Augsburg boss Jess Thorup, who has lost just once in eight matches since taking over in October, said “today was the best chance for us to see where we stand against the better teams”.
“After the game, I told the team we’ve done well.”
Union Berlin, coming off their inaugural Champions League campaign halted by Real Madrid in the German capital on Tuesday, suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bochum. The convincing victory, fueled by goals from Takuma Asano, Goncalo Paciencia, and a late penalty converted by Kevin Stoeger, not only secured three points but also widened the gap from the relegation places to six points.
In a resilient performance, ten-man Wolfsburg secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory against promoted Darmstadt, with Croatia midfielder Lovro Majer netting the solitary goal. Wolfsburg faced adversity when center-back Maxence Lacroix received a red card for a last-man foul midway through the first half. Lacroix’s fifth red card in less than 100 games for Wolfsburg makes him the player with the most dismissals in the team.
On another front, promoted Heidenheim claimed a 1-0 triumph at Mainz, courtesy of an early goal by Marvin Pieringer. This result leaves the struggling hosts entrenched in the bottom two of the league standings.
As the weekend unfolds, the top four teams will continue their campaigns on Sunday. Bayern Munich, in second place, hosts third-placed Stuttgart, while league leaders Leverkusen play Frankfurt at home.
