Dortmund beat Augsburg to keep pace

Borussia Dortmund got back to
winning ways in the Bundesliga with a
routine 3-1 triumph over Augsburg at
the SGL Arena on Saturday.
Marco Reus opened the scoring with
a free-kick right out of the top drawer,
before a Robert Lewandowski double
in the second half put Dortmund in
cruise control.
Sascha Molders pulled one back for
the home side with nine minutes to
go, but there was no time left for a
further response, as Dortmund
snatched all three points, but still
remain 11 points behind league
leaders Bayern Munich.
Augsburg fashioned the first real
opening of the game after only five
minutes, when Tobias Werner forced
Roman Weidenfeller to parry, and
Lukasz Piszczek had to be alert to
remove the danger from the
rebound.
But four minutes later, Dortmund
were ahead. Reus did not let the
angle faze him as he took authority
over a set-piece on the left side of the
box, and curled a stupendous effort
into the top corner that beat Simon
Jentzsch all ends up.
Augsburg almost hit back straight
from the restart, but Weidenfeller was
alert once again to deny Matthias
Ostrzolek, who had done well to get
on the end of a dangerous cross.
Dortmund seemed unable to
capitalise on their advantage, as they
found it hard to assert themselves in
the face of a determined effort from
the home side.
Augsburg, for all their encouraging
play, lacked a cutting edge up front, as
shown succinctly in the 35th minute
when the impressive Werner teed up
Torsten Oehrl for a half-volley that
ripped wide of the post.
However, with half-time looming, a
pair of  golden chances from either
side nearly turned the game on its
head.
First, Daniel Baier was left shaking his
head after failing to convert from an
unmarked position eight yards out,
with Weidenfeller making the save,
before Mario Gotze, with the last kick
of the half, drilled onto the woodwork
after a clever move involving Reus and
Kevin Grosskreutz.
Gotze would be far more decisive six
minutes after the interval, as he
cushioned a long punt forward into
the path of Lewandowski, who did
enough to slot under the body of
Jentzsch, and send the visitors into a
two goal lead.
But Dortmund were lucky to see that
advantage remain intact after the
hour mark, as a furious attack by
Augsburg saw Weidenfeller parry
Andreas Ottl’s shot from close range,
before Knowledge Musona ripped the
rebound onto the base of the post.
With 20 minutes to go however, BVB
put the result beyond any doubt. After
a giveaway from Augsburg in their
own half, Lewandowski played a give
and go with Reus, profited from a
missed clearance from Sebastian
Langkamp, and buried past Jentzsch
for the second time.
In the 81st minute, Molders finally
gave the home fans something to
cheer after turning home a delivery
from Matthias Ostrzolek, but it was
too little too late for Augsburg, who
slumped to another defeat to remain
rooted to the foot of the table.
Jurgen Klopp's men ended their last
league outing in a disappointing 0-0
stalemate at home to Stuttgart, but
there were no signs of such a result
repeating itself as the visitors strolled
to a comfortable victory to see their
fleeting title defence endure for
another week.