1-0 – BVB fight their way to three points in Augsburg thanks to Guirassy's goal | OneFootball

One corner, two shots on goal, one goal: those were the facts of a messy first half that ultimately proved successful for Dortmund. Serhou Guirassy ended his goal drought in the 37th minute, after 438 minutes of play without a goal.In a frantic second half, in which Augsburg pushed for the equaliser, BVB managed to hold on for the win.

Scenario:The fourth-placed team travelled to the fifteenth-placed team. Borussia had lost only one of their previous 16 Bundesliga games, while Augsburg had already suffered five defeats. That was more than FCA had ever lost at this stage of the season.

Personnel matters:While captain Emre Can made his comeback to the squad after more than five months out and Ramy Bensebaini (who missed the Frankfurt game due to back problems) returned to the team, and youngster Julien Duranville was set to be eased back into the demands of the Bundesliga via the U23s, Niklas Süle (foot injury) and Nico Schlotterbeck (cold) were forced to sit out. Six changes were made to the starting line-up compared to the cup match three days earlier in Frankfurt (a 5-3 win on penalties): Bensebaini, Couto, Nmecha, Gross, Chukwuemeka and Guirassy replaced Schlotterbeck, Ryerson, Sabitzer, Bellingham , Svensson – the complete midfield – and Adeyemi, all of whom moved to the bench.

Tactics:Nominally, there were four defenders in Dortmund's starting line-up, but that didn't mean the team reverted to a back four. Beier, strong in the tackle and a good runner, took over Svensson's position as a wing-back on the left. The basic formations were identical for both teams in a 3-4-3. However, the approach differed significantly. Augsburg left the ball to BVB, defended deep – sometimes with man-to-man marking: Matsima stuck to Guirassy – and, after winning the ball, focused on quick transitions, mainly down the left side. After a cautious start, FCA sometimes switched to a high press as the game went on.

Match report & analysis:BVB tried to break down their opponents, stringing together long passing sequences, but were too slow overall and often sloppy, allowing Augsburg to disrupt their play time and again. Very little happened in the opening half hour. Then FCA became more active and grew in confidence. It was only in the closing stages of a completely uneventful first half that BVB shook off the fatigue from four games in 11 days and took the lead with their first shot on goal, albeit aided by a costly mistake. After Anton's cross, Matsima headed the ball against his own man (Massengo), causing it to rebound straight into the path of Guirassy. The striker moved into the penalty area and did not miss the chance from eight metres out on the right (37). Following the first corner, the ball slipped through to Anton, who was too surprised and could not put the ball in the net (43).

The hosts came out of the dressing room with momentum, while Borussia continued to be imprecise in their passing but nevertheless full of passion. Eight of the ten outfield players had a positive tackle ratio up to that point. Kovac made his first substitution after an hour, bringing on Bellingham and Svensson for Nmecha and Chukwuemeka, with Beier moving from left-back to left wing (Brandt moved to the right). Bellingham made up for an earlier mistake in the 70th minute, preventing Rexhbecaj from equalising with a last-ditch intervention.

Augsburg became increasingly dominant and incisive in a scrappy game in which the ball whizzed back and forth between the two sides. Dortmund only managed to relieve the pressure and regain possession in the opposition's half in the closing stages. In the eighth minute of stoppage time, Augsburg had a corner, which was successfully defended, leading to a counter-attacking opportunity for the recently introduced Adeyemi. The BVB forward looked to be bearing down on the open goal, but Matsima got back well to snuff out the danger.

Outlook:BVB still have two more away games to play before the international break: next Wednesday at Manchester City and the following Saturday at Hamburger SV.

Boris Rupert reporting from Augsburg

Teams & goals

Bundesliga, Matchday 9FC AUGSBURG 0-1 (0-1) BORUSSIA DORTMUND

FC Augsburg: Dahmen – Banks, Matsima, K. Schlotterbeck – Fellhauer (81, Tietz), Massengo (63, Kade), Rexhbecaj, Giannoulis (76, Gharbi) – Rieder, Claude-Maurice (81, Essende) – Kömür (63, Saad)Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Anselmino, Anton, Bensebaini – Couto (74. Ryerson), Gross, Nmecha (62, Bellingham), Beier (74, Sabitzer) – Chukwuemeka (62, Svensson), Brandt (90+5, Adeyemi) – GuirassySubstitutes: Labrovic, Wolf, Zesiger, Jakic – Meyer, Özcan, Fabio Silva, Can Goals: 0-1 Guirassy (37)Corners: 4-2 (0-1 at half-time), chance ratio: 1-2 (0-1)Referee: Stieler (Sölden/Schwarzwald), bookings: Kobel – Rexhbecaj, Giannoulis, Rieder, TietzAttendance: 30,660 (sold-out), weather: dry, 8 degrees celsius