Berlin, Jan 23 (IANS) Dortmund worked out a 4-3 victory over stubborn Augsburg after Giovanni Reyna provided the winner in the closing stages of the 16th round.
The “BVB” started brightly into the encounter, but the hosts had to wait until the 29th minute when Jude Bellingham danced through Augsburg’s defense before slotting home the opener, reports Xinhua news agency.
Mats Hummels had the chance to extend the lead from a promising position, but instead, Augsburg restored parity against the run of the game as Arne Meier benefitted on a miscued clearance and tapped home right-footed in the 40th minute.
Dortmund remained unimpressed and took the lead two minutes later after Nico Schlotterbeck utilized Julian Brandt’s free-kick to head home from ten meters.
The host’s advantage didn’t last long, though, as Augsburg leveled the scores out of the blue again in the dying seconds of the first half when Ermedin Demirovic made the most of Arne Engels’ groundwork.
Dortmund continued offensively minded but needed some time to find the back of Augsburg’s goal as Jamie Bynoe-Gittens finished off his solo run to make it 3-2 on the scoreboards in the 75th minute.
Dortmund’s lead lasted only two minutes as resilient Augsburg tied the scores for the third time in a row after substitute David Colina latched onto a loose ball inside the box.
The hosts had the last laugh and snatched all three points on home soil in the 80th minute when Bellingham flicked on a long ball from Schlotterbeck, allowing Reyna to score the 4-3 winner with a half volley.
“When I look at how the game went, I am happy that we still won the game despite all the setbacks. In the second half, we lost our focus, and things got very chaotic, very wild,” said Dortmund coach Edin Terzic.
“I am not satisfied with the result. When you lose like that it is even more annoying. We made all in all a huge game,” commented Augsburg coach Enrico Maassen.
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen wrapped up its fourth straight win after moving 3-2 past Borussia Monchengladbach by courtesy of goals from Mitchel Bakker, Amine Adli, and Nadiem Amiri.
–IANS
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