Borussia Dortmund vs. Augsburg: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga Game
Borussia Dortmund made light work of FC Augsburg on Matchday 10 of the Bundesliga on Sunday, beating the Swabians, 5-1, at the Signal Iduna Park.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel made four changes to his team after the Europa League trip to Azerbaijan during the week. In expected moves, Roman Burki replaced Roman Weidenfeller as per the usual rotation in goal, while Marcel Schmelzer returned to the starting lineup for the first time, after a muscle injury had kept him out for three games.
Elsewhere, Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed the game with a slight thigh injury, which saw Gonzalo Castro start on the right side of the attack. Finally, Sven Bender replaced Julian Weigl in defensive midfield in what Tuchel called a gut decision in an interview with German broadcaster Sky before the game.
Augsburg had to do without captain Paul Verhaegh, whose ankle injury could keep him out for a while. Former Dortmund player Markus Feulner replaced the Dutchman. Dominik Kohr and Alexander Esswein got the start for Caiuby and Tobias Werner, after being rested at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.
Dortmund took control of the game early on, as it seemed like a matter of time until they'd open the scoring.
In-form striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did just that in the 18th minute with a tap-in from an Ilkay Gundogan pass. Just three minutes later, Marco Reus doubled Dortmund's lead from short range. Reus scored his second in the 33rd minute.
Augsburg made two changes at half-time, with Werner and Jan Moravek coming on for Esswein and Piotr Trochowski.
Raul Bobadilla scored a goal from a Werner set piece four minutes into the second half, but he had the linesman to thank. The Paraguay international was a good yard offside.
While Augsburg never really threatened to come back into the game, Dortmund did lose a bit of control after the goal, losing possession too often and not playing as cohesively as they had in the first half.
Aubameyang scored twice in the last five minutes to pretty up the scoreline.
Dortmund were well on their way to perhaps the best performance under Tuchel in the first half, and they deserved the win.
Here's a look at the winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
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Aubameyang continued his fantastic season with his second hat-trick in four days. He's now up to 20 goals in 17 appearances under Tuchel.
Onlookers are quickly running out of ways to praise the 26-year-old. In what seems like the understatement of the year, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc told Sky after the game that Aubameyang is playing on a high level at the moment.
Deutsche Welle's Ross Dunbar tweeted after the game: "The numbers - 20 in 18 - look phenomenal, but Aubameyang's overall play is sublime. Announced himself as one of Europe's top CFs in 2015."
Tuchel noted Aubameyang's importance to the team, praising his positive attitude and team-first mentality.
Loser: Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker
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You almost had to feel sorry for Augsburg's veteran centre-back in the 21st minute. He had no chance to defend Shinji Kagawa's dribbling at the left edge of the penalty box, as the Japan international got rid of him with a quick turn and acceleration.
Kagawa then found Marco Reus, who didn't have to do too much to find the net and double Dortmund's lead.
Callsen-Bracker was one of many Augsburg defenders struggling on the day, but no team-mate got embarrassed quite like the 31-year-old.
After the game, the centre-back lamented his side allowing Dortmund to score easy goals. He had himself to blame for one of them.
Winner: Shinji Kagawa
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Dortmund's No. 23 had been through a bit of a slump in the last few games, failing to contribute to a goal in the Bundesliga since the win over Bayer Leverkusen on September 20.
Kagawa had three assists to his name when the final whistle blew on Sunday.
The first for Reus' first goal was a piece of individual skill against Callsen-Bracker. His second, again to Reus, a brilliant flick with the heel, was a true testament to the 26-year-old's ingenuity. With his third, finally, Kagawa showed the patience and composure he had lacked last season.
Against Augsburg, it was vintage Kagawa—a performance to remind everyone why Sir Alex Ferguson brought the Japan international to Manchester United three years ago.
Loser: Markus Weinzierl
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Augsburg remain dead last in the Bundesliga, with only one win in 10 games. While head coach Markus Weinzierl doesn't appear to be on the hot seat just yet, he can't be happy with his team's performance at Dortmund.
While the Swabians certainly didn't expect to get too much out of the game, the way they played, especially in the first half, must be somewhat discouraging.
Weinzierl's side looked tentative and almost always a step too slow. After the game, he lamented his team leaving Dortmund too much space in the first half, per Reviersport's Tim Muller.
With a difficult trip to Freiburg in the DFB-Pokal during the week and a very important home game against Mainz on the horizon, Augsburg need to up their performances—and soon, or they'll find themselves in a deep hole come the winter break.
Winner: Marco Reus
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With three goals in the last two Bundesliga games, Marco Reus' bad spell of form can officially be put to bed.
The 26-year-old looks to be back on track after sluggish play upon his return from a toe injury had some wonder about his fit at Tuchel's Dortmund.
Playing on the left side of the attack for the third straight game, Reus looks to have rediscovered a naturalness in his game, as noted by Ruhr Nachrichten.
Dortmund need Reus to keep things going, as he's their only truly natural goalscorer other than Aubameyang.
