Andre Hahn (l.) celebrated putting Augsburg in front of a game they went on to draw 2-2 at home to Gladbach
Andre Hahn (l.) celebrated putting Augsburg in front of a game they went on to draw 2-2 at home to Gladbach

All-square between Augsburg and Gladbach

xwhatsappmailcopy-link

Augsburg - FC Augsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach shared the spoils in a four-goal thriller to get Bundesliga Matchday 7 up and running on Friday evening.

Augsburg on top, Gladbach efficient

Andre Hahn put the home side in front in a see-saw encounter at the SGL Arena, with Max Kruse levelling for the visitors shortly after. Branimir Hrgota fired the Foals in front in the 71st minute against the run of play, but substitute Arkadiusz Milik salvaged a point for Markus Weinzierl's men with a last-gasp strike from close range. The result leaves both sides on ten points, with Gladbach managing to avoid defeat for the first time on the road this season.

The contest's first chance of note saw the hosts almost go in front, Halil Altintop picking up a loose clearance following a free kick and drilling a shot off the outside of the post. The effort was indicative of an impressive early period for Augsburg, but midway through the first half a Juan Arango special almost earned the Foals an out-of-the-blue opener. The Venezuelan playmaker latched onto a Raffael lay-off and battered a piledriver against the underside of the bar with Alex Manninger beaten all ends up, although the home keeper gathered his wits in time to keep out the follow-up effort from Patrick Herrmann.

Three minutes later, Augsburg were in front instead. Good play from Tobias Werner set up Hahn for a smart far-post finish from a tight angle - and finally got the midfielder off the mark in his 23rd Bundesliga outing. The home side's celebrations were fairly short-lived however as Gladbach hauled themselves level just six minutes later, Kruse taking a pass from Christoph Kramer and giving Ragnar Klavan the slip before hammering home past Manninger for his fourth goal of the season.

Late drama


One-all it remained through to the break, the visitors' efficiency having thus far nullified the home side's advantage in terms of pressure and possession. Gladbach sought to impose themselves on the contest more in the opening minutes of the second half, but they needed a good save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen against Altintop to keep them on level terms in the 52nd minute.

From there on in it was a repeat of the first half as Augsburg continued to hold the upper hand and press forward. And, just as in the first half, Lucien Favre's men seized the next rare opportunity that fell their way to go in front. With 71 minutes on the clock, Arango, Kramer and Kruse combined in a pitch-perfect breakaway to set up Hrgota for an excellent finish on the full. The home side threw themselves forward in search of an equaliser and two minutes from the end it paid off. Hahn powered his way through on the right and Milik met his low ball into the box with a poacher's finish to secure the hosts a hard-earned point.


Line-ups and statistics