Talking Points from Borussia Dortmund 2-1 FC Augsburg

Borussia Dortmund cruised to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over FC Augsburg to remain top of the Bundesliga. Andriy Yarmolenko and Shinji Kagawa scored for the visitors, while Caiuby Francisco got one back for the hosts.

Peter Bosz’s men got the game off to a perfect start, scoring the first goal through summer signing Andriy Yarmolenko in the 4th minute. He scored with a superb, clever backheel from a Christian Pulisic corner, giving his side a deserved lead. It also marked his first ever league goal for his new club. However, the hosts leveled the scores just minutes later as Caiuby’s powerful header punished a sloppy Dortmund defence. Shinji Kagawa then helped his side regain the lead with a beautiful chipped goal from the edge of the box. The goal of the season contender was also a milestone goal, as he became the highest scoring Japanese in the Bundesliga with 38 goals to his name. The rest of the first half was just back and forth, with neither team succeeded in creating a clear-cut chance.

The visitors came into the second half with a defensive strategy, but an error from Weigl put them in jeopardy. It was only a Sokratis header that averted the danger. Burki then made some superb saves, two of which were by Caiuby, as he somehow kept his side in the game. And in the 75th minute, a penalty was awarded by VAR for Ja-Cheol Koo’s foul on Toljan in the box, but Aubameyang missed from the spot as his audacious panenka was embarrassingly easy for the opposition goalkeeper to save. The failure marked a poor game for the Dortmund talisman, who had earlier fluffed a glorious one-on-one when played through by Marc Bartra. And for the remaining 15 minutes, Peter Bosz decided to shut down shop and his players managed to protect their lead and eventually run out winners.

Here are the Talking Points from the match-

Yarmolenko in Deadly form

New signing Yarmolenko had an unsurprisingly slow start to the season, but in recent weeks, his performances have been brilliant as he keeps on scoring important goals. His goal today was beautiful and was also his first in the Bundesliga. He still had other things to do as he later assisted Kagawa’s goal, which turned out to be the winning goal. If he keeps up his form like this, Reus and Schurrle could find it hard to come back into the team once they recover from injury.

Ugly Win

Borussia Dortmund’s fans are used to watching their team play with a lot of fervor and an attacking mindset. However, Bosz decided to save the lead today rather than risking three points in search of more goals. Not always will you play the Sir Alex Ferguson style, you sometimes need to play in a Mourinho-esque style as well. Because in the end, three points are all that matter.

Bayern’s Crisis is Dortmund’s Gain?

Could this be the year for Dortmund to reclaim the league crown? Tensions are rising in Bavaria, and after the sacking of Ancelotti, Bayern are desperate to get back on track. However, their first match in the Italian boss’ absence wasn’t what they wanted, as they dropped two points against Hertha Berlin. The Black and Yellow are already five points ahead of the defending champions and remain the only unbeaten team in the league. And once the champions are taken apart, the only team that could challenge them is Hoffenheim. And as good as they may be, Dortmund’s quality and experience at the highest level could eventually prove to be too much for Julian Nagelsmann’s side. And that means Dortmund can run away with the trophy. But can they take this form into the upcoming stages of the season?