Flying in Champions League, Borussia Dortmund suffers another Bundesliga setback

Sat, Dec 16, 2023
Soccer News (AP)

BERLIN (AP) - Excelling in the Champions League, disappointing in the Bundesliga.

Borussia Dortmund suffered another domestic setback when it was held at Augsburg to 1-1 on Saturday just days after topping a Champions League group with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle.

When asked how the team cannot maintain its good Champions League form in the Bundesliga, Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck answered, "I don't know."

Ermedin Demirovic held off Schlotterbeck's challenge - arguably with a shove - to fire Augsburg into a 23rd-minute lead.

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Donyell Malen played a one-two with Niclas Fullkrug to equalize in the 35th.

Augsburg missed three good chances early in the second half before Dortmund coach Edin Terzic sent on Gio Reyna for Marco Reus in the 58th, then the 19-year-old Samuel Bamba for his Bundesliga debut in the 71st, but Dortmund was unable to grab a winner.

It's Dortmund's third straight Bundesliga game without a win, and its fifth across all competitions including a 1-1 draw with PSG on Wednesday.

Terzic's team has won only one of its last seven Bundesliga games.

Dortmund, which came agonizingly close to ending Bayern Munich's domestic dominance last season, can fall nine points behind the defending champion, and 13 behind league leader Bayer Leverkusen if Leverkusen beats Eintracht Frankfurt at home on Sunday.

Dortmund also risks falling further behind fourth-placed Leipzig in the race for Champions League qualification. Leipzig hosted Hoffenheim late Saturday.

TASTY TAKUMA

Fueled by chocolate from supporters' protests, Takuma Asano scored to set up Bochum's 3-0 win over visiting Union Berlin in their duel at the lower end of the table.

The Japan forward grabbed a chocolate coin that was among many thrown onto the field by fans protesting the league's plans to bring in an outside investor, unwrapped the gold foil, and ate the chocolate inside.

Then Asano broke the deadlock in first-half injury time by firing Bochum ahead.

Goncalo Paci�ncia and Kevin Stoger - from a penalty - scored in the second half to deal Union its first league defeat under new coach Nenad Bjelica.

Also, Lovro Majer's second-half goal was enough for 10-man Wolfsburg to beat Darmstadt 1-0, and Marvin Pieringer scored to give Heidenheim a 1-0 win in Mainz.

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