Volland at the double as Hoffenheim down Augsburg
Augsburg - TSG Hoffenheim 1899 secured a first victory of the season with a commanding display to overcome FC Augsburg 3-1 at the WWK Arena on Saturday afternoon.
FC AUGSBURG 1-3 TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM
Goals: 0-1 Volland (10’), 1-1 Koo (38’), 1-2 Volland (69’), 1-3 Schmid (73’)
Looking to make amends for the midweek defeat in Mönchengladbach, Augsburg began confidently. Their bright start, however, was punctured within ten minutes as Kevin Volland drove a low shot past Marwin Hitz to put the visitors in front. Eduardo Vargas came close to doubling the lead nine minutes later, but Markus Weinzierl’s men began to reassert their early control. Jeong-Ho Hong came close, before Oliver Baumann’s missed punch allowed Ja-Cheol Koo to head home for a deserved leveller seven minutes before the break.
Man of the match
With two goals and one assist, Matchday 7 might be looked back upon as the day Volland refound his magic touch. The German international’s lean patch so far this season has unsurprisingly coincided with his side’s inability to click going forward, but with he and Vargas linking confidently, the Sinsheimers looked a very different team.
Talking point
Augsburg’s patchy home form is a major cause of concern for Markus Weinzierl. Die Fuggerstädter have been beaten three times at the WWK Arena this season, only picking up one win (against Hannover 96 on Matchday 5). If FCA are again to reach last season’s lofty heights, turning their home ground into a fortress would be a fine place to start.
Match stats
- Volland’s brace was his second in the Bundesliga, his last coming in February 2013 against SC Freiburg.
- Four of Hoffenheim’s eight league goals this season have come in the opening quarter-hour, a league-high.
Line-ups
Augsburg: Hitz - Verhaegh, Hong, Klavan, Stafylidis - Baier - Kohr (Trochowski, 79')- Koo, Halil Altintop (Matavz, 70'), Esswein - Bobadilla (Ji, 77')
Hoffenheim: Baumann - Kaderabek, Süle, Bicakcic, Toljan - Schwegler, Polanski - Rudy (Strobl, 46'), Schmid (Zuber, 86') - Volland, Vargas (Schär, 81')