FC Augsburg

Head coach Jess Thorup was without Elvis Rexhbecaj (broken metatarsal), Kevin Mbabu (adductor), Fredrik Jensen (calf) and Iago (knock to the foot). Captain Ermedin Demirović returned to the squad after serving a yellow-card suspension. Arne Engels, Mads Pedersen and Maximilian Bauer all started for FCA. 

In a change from last weekend’s 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln, FCA went with a three-man backline against TSG. However, the Függestädter were dealt with an early setback as Kristijan Jakić was forced off after 12 minutes with a knock. Tim Breithaupt came in at centre-mid to replace the Croat, who had been dealing with an ankle issue during the pre-game warm-up already. 

The hosts were able to get off to a strong start, netting twice in quick succession. Wout Weghorst opened the scoring after linking up with Pavel Kaderabek (17’), before Andrej Kramarić added a second from range just three minutes later. FCA took a while to find their footing, but were nearly able to get one back just before the break through Ruben Vargas. The striker was unfortunate to be denied by a good save from Oliver Baumann (42’). 

Jeffrey Gouweleeuw: It was a tough game for us today. Things improved after the coach reverted to a four-man backline, as we’d struggled up until then. We then managed to create a lot of chances in the second half especially, but we weren’t clinical enough with them. Nevertheless, we know where we’re at and where we want to end up. There are still a lot of games to play and lots of points to pick up. We’ll continue on against Union Berlin on Friday. 

Ermedin Demirović: It’s a tough defeat to take. Unlike in most of our games recently, we didn’t get off to a good start. We weren’t able to exert the same level of pressure on our opponents as usual. As soon as we switched back to our usual formation, we were able to get back to our old strengths. Coming back from 2-0 is always tough. We created several chances for ourselves, scored with one of them and fought until the end, but we were just missing a little luck today as well. Our next game is coming up on Friday already, so our full focus will now be on that in order to ensure that we do better. 

Phillip Tietz: We weren’t alert enough during the first 20 minutes and make several errors in our positioning, which led to a poor first half from us. The second half was better and I had the feeling that we would be able to snatch an equaliser still. In the end, we fell just short and now only have a few days until our game against Union, where we want to get back to winning ways in order to pick up as many points as possible from our final six games. 

Mads Pedersen: Of course today’s is disappointing, as we came here with the intention of taking all three points. We then conceded twice before managing to fight back in the second half and creating chances that we just didn’t manage to convert. We need to quickly analyse and move on from this result in order to focus on our next game on Friday. 

Jess Thorup, FCA head coach: We lost today’s game inside the first 20 minutes and unfortunately made several mistakes that made it possible for our opponents to create chances. We then made a slight adjustment and I saw the return of a team that was fighting hard out on the pitch. In the end, we were unable to extend our run of five straight games without defeat, despite a promising second half. We tried everything we could right until the end, so there are some positives that we can take with us into our next game. But, first and foremost, we’re disappointed with today’s result. 

Pellegrino Matarazzo, TSG head coach: We got off to a great start. Augsburg surprised us a bit with their formation, but my team did well to react to that. We were dominant and in control during the first half, before allowing our opponents a bit too much space after the break. We were able to regain some of that control by the end and, based on the energy and hard work that we put into it, deservedly won today. 

A tough away game now awaits the Fuggerstädter following the 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln last weekend, in which FCA “weren’t rewarded for a good performance” according to Thorup.  “Hoffenheim have a lot of quality in attack, especially on the counterattack. We need to pay attention to that.” Defending against quick counterattacks was discussed once again just after the game against Köln. “We’ve addressed this during the week,” explained the 54-year-old, who can see a lot of confidence within his team: “We’ve got momentum – we want to keep that going.”

“This is a difficult diagnosis to take for Elvis and the team. We’re giving him our full support for his operation and recovery. Elvis is a fighter who won’t let this knock the wind out of his sails. We’re therefore convinced that he’ll be back with the team on the pitch next season,” said FCA sporting director Marinko Jurendic.

The 39-year-old sports economist, who himself featured for FCA’s second team as a player, started as an intern at the then-second tier side in 2006 and assisted in a variety of areas at the club. A native of Bavaria, Ströll was then promoted to an authorised signatory in 2013 and then became the chief commercial officer in 2016. Michael Ströll has been CEO of FCA since the departure of Stefan Reuter in September 2023.

Jess Thorup was forced into some changes from the 3-1 win in Wolfsburg. Top goalscorer Ermedin Demirović was suspended, meaning Elvis Rexhbecaj came into the XI and took the captain’s armband from him too. Robert Gumny suffered a torn ACL in training during the week and is now set for several months on the sidelines.

Arne Maier: “Although we’re now unbeaten in five games, we’re going home with mixed feelings. We were the better team, had more chances and dominated the game in the second half in particular – we desperately wanted the win and threw everything at them at the end. Ultimately, we were just lacking a bit of luck. Nonetheless, it’s another point gained and we’ll take the positives as we look to the future now.”

Winther, who moved to Augsburg from Lyngby BK in October 2020, made seven competitive appearances for the Fuggerstädter in total. The centre-back made two of his seven competitive appearances in the DFB-Pokal, whilst he also featured five times in the Bundesliga. Winther spent five months on loan at Bröndby IF in his native Denmark last season, before moving to Portugal on loan this season. He made two appearances, including one start for the side currently sitting 14th in the Primeira Liga. 

According to Jess Thorup, FCA “went into the international break with a lot of confidence. We used the break to recover.” The team also played a friendly match against SpVgg Greuther Fürth. “We put in a good performance against Fürth. Certain players got a lot of minutes,” said Thorup. The head coach wants to build on our recent results in the game against Köln. “We want to bring the confidence from the last few games onto the pitch again. The aim is another win.” The players who had been on international duty linked up with the rest of the team again on Thursday. “The players are pleased to be back on the pitch, and the atmosphere in the dressing room is good.”

While Ermedin Demirović returned to Augsburg after losing in the semi-finals of the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying play-offs with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fredrik Jensen and Finland played a friendly after their defeat. The 26-year-old opened the scoring in a 2-1 win over Estonia, scoring the rebound from his saved penalty. He also played a big role in the second goal, with his shot from close range hitting the bar and then ending up in the back of the net via Estonia goalkeeper Karl Hein.