Match Report: Borussia Dortmund earn dramatic 4-3 win against FC Augsburg

Borussia Dortmund edged FC Augsburg in a high scoring affair with Paco Alcacer netting a hattrick to give his side a 4-3 win.

Borussia Dortmund yet again came out flat in the first half of a game. Seems to be a trend with Dortmund at the moment, always having to put together superb second halves in order to get results, today being no different. But Paco Alcacer’s hat-trick helped them pull off an astonishing comeback and win 4-3.

Marco Reus had the biggest chance of the first half when the game was 0-0. Jadon Sancho found him all alone near the penalty spot and Reus uncharacteristically fired the ball over the net. The remainder of the first half was woefully inconsistent for BVB. They struggled to string passes together and seemed to trip themselves up in the final third by either rushing a pass or just making a poor one when they succeeded in creating space for themselves.

Far too many fouls were given up by BVB along their right flank allowing for Philipp Max to swing balls in with his deadly left foot. That would lead to Augsburg breaking the deadlock off a Philipp Max free kick. A bit of luck for Augsburg was needed off the free kick as Zagadou attempted to clear the ball, it redirected off of Alfred Finnbogason’s onto his pass and the Iceland international beat Burki from a tight angle.

Although Dortmund weren’t at their best in the first half both Jadon Sancho and Dan-Axel Zagadou continued to impress.

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The second 45 minutes were potentially the most exciting back and forth 45 minutes we may see in the entire Bundesliga this season. Six goals were scored in the span of 33 of those 45 minutes, and there could very well have been more.

While Dortmund’s attack was much improved in the second half, their defending was still lackluster which allowed Augsburg to take the lead once more and then equalize near the end of the 90 minutes.

Philipp Max scored on a cross that took a deflection on its way to him. Hakimi left him all alone on the back post to rifle his shot past Burki. Michael Gregoritsch was also given a free header in the 6 yard box off a corner in the 87th minute to tie the game up.

Augsburg committed 22 fouls in this game, although not accurate it felt like 20 of those 22 fouls came in the second half.

Every single chance Augsburg got they went in late or went a bit overboard with their physicality to try and get Dortmund off their game. Augsburg collected 7 yellow cards in this game if that’s any indication of the type of football they were playing.

Dortmund’s saviour yet again, Paco Alcacer, was subbed on for Max Philipp in the 60th minute. Alcacer didn’t take long to make an impact, slotting home a Jadon Sancho pass in the 62nd minute to draw the game level. He would go on to score two more goals and complete his hat-trick with a free kick in the 96th minute to secure the three points for Dortmund. The Alcacer loan is already looking like another shrewd piece of business by Michael Zorc.

Mario Gotze was given his first Bundesliga action of the season, getting subbed on in the 77th minute. He made a great run that was found by Hakimi to score in the 84th minute, putting Dortmund up 3-2 before Gregoritsch scored the equalizer. Hopefully this leads to more chances for Gotze as getting him back into the BVB midfield rotation will be key for the remainder of the season.

Borussia Dortmund head into the International break top of the table with 23 goals for in 7 games. It’s still very early, but at this point we do have a title race.