No separating Augsburg and Arminia Bielefeld
It was honours even between Augsburg and Arminia Bielefeld as the latter picked up a valuable point in the battle against relegation.
Augsburg began the day in 12th, four places and six points better off than their visitors to the WWK Arena, but it was Bielefeld who had the better chances in what was an otherwise fraught first half. Captain Fabian Klos slipped Andreas Voglsammer through on goal with a sumptuous backheel, but his strike partner blazed the chance over the bar. Bielefeld ended the half with two-thirds of possession, but they struggled to make it tell, Voglsammer making a mess of another chance to cross into the box for Klos. Augsburg might have made them pay for their profligacy when Marco Richter cut inside from the left, his quick feet bamboozling Amos Pieper, but his shot deflected onto the roof of the net and it was goalless at the break.
Augsburg coach Heiko Herrlich sent young Englishman Reece Oxford on for his captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw at the start of the second half, as well as Ecuador midfielder Carlos Gruezo in place of the yellow-carded Rani Khedira. A stray Oxford pass nearly let Voglsammer in for another chance, but Felix Uduokhai, who recently earned his first call-up to the Germany squad, recovered the situation. Ritsu Doan was the next to try his luck, Bielefeld's top scorer spooning his effort high and wide of Rafal Gikiewicz's goal. Sven Schipplock then replaced the injured Klos for the final 20 minutes, and while he held the ball up well, there was to be no sign of a winner. He had a late goal disallowed and it ended 0-0.
Match stats
- Augsburg's Andre Hahn had previously scored three times across his last six Bundesliga outings.
- No goalkeepers league-wide boast higher save percentages than Augsburg's Gikiewicz and Bielefeld's Stefan Ortega (both 72 percent).
- Augsburg had won their last two home games. They remain without three consecutive victories on home turf since December 2019.
- Arminia are unbeaten in three away games under Kramer (W1, D2).
- Doan is Bielefeld's top scorer with four goals. The Japan winger has also provided two assists since his loan arrival from PSV Eindhoven.
- Khedira is suspended for Augsburg's trip to Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday after picking up five yellow cards.
Line-ups
Augsburg: Gikiewicz - Framberger, Gouweeleeuw (c) (Oxford 46'), Uduokhai, Iago - Strobl, Khedira (Gruezo 46') - Caligiuri, Richter (Finnbogason 65'), Vargas - Hahn
Unused subs: Koubek, Gumny, Pedersen, Niederlechner, Gregoritsch, Benes
Out: Civeja (pelvis), Jensen (thigh), Moravek (match fitness)
Coach: Heiko Herrlich
Bielefeld: Ortega - Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson, Lucoqui - Okugawa (de Medina 88'), Kunze, Prietl - Doan (Gebauer 77') - Klos (c) (Schipplock 69'), Voglsammer
Unused subs: Linner, Laursen, Van der Hoorn, Vlap, Hartel
Out: Cordova (not included), Yabo (not included)
Coach: Frank Kramer
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