Oliver Glasner made five changes following the defeat at Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 1, and also switched formation to a 4-2-3-1. Summer signings Christopher Lenz, Jens Petter Hauge and Jesper Lindström made their full league debuts for the club, while Erik Durm and Ajdin Hrustic also came into the starting XI. Stefan Ilsanker, Danny da Costa, Makoto Hasebe, Aymen Barkok and Daichi Kamada all dropped to the bench.
Eagles increasingly dominant
Eintracht had the majority of the possession in the first period but struggled to create clear-cut openings against an Augsburg side who offered little going forward themselves. Towards the end of the half the Eagles began to link up better in attack and their two best chances both fell to Hauge, who fired straight at Rafal Gikiewicz in the 38th minute before being thwarted by the Augsburg keeper after being played in beautifully by Lindström. Hrustic then fired just over from long range in the final action before half-time.
One-way traffic
Glasner’s men continued to knock on the door after the break. An excellent counter on 55 minutes ended with Filip Kostic’s effort being saved by Gikiewicz, who was then on hand to gather Lindström’s free kick moments later. It was virtually one-way traffic at Deutsche Bank Park, although Kevin Trapp almost gifted the visitors a goal when he miscontrolled a back-pass and cleared it to Carlos Gruezo, who fortunately couldn’t take advantage.
The lively Lindström was in the thick of it again in the 66th minute but couldn’t keep his shot down from a tight angle after being played in. Kamada entered the fray in the 70th minute and was involved straight away, first seeing his shot blocked at the last moment and then setting up Rafael Borré, whose effort was parried by Gikiewicz. Eintracht kept pushing for the breakthrough until the end but it wasn’t to be, and they had to settle for a point.
Summary: Plenty of positives
Sixty-two percent possession and 21 shots on goal to Augsburg’s four says it all. Although Eintracht will be disappointed with the result given their clear dominance, Glasner should be encouraged by the football his side produced at times as well as their determination throughout.
SGE line-up
Trapp – Durm, Ndicka, Hinteregger, Lenz – Sow, Hrustic (Hasebe 80’) – Hauge (Kamada 70’), Lindström (Ache 80’), Kostic – Borré
