An afternoon to forget

There are days when absolutely nothing seems to go right – and Saturday proved one of those days for VfB, as Alexander Zorniger’s men slipped to a 0-4 home defeat to FC Augsburg. In a game which began with a minutes silence for the victims of the atrocities in Paris, VfB found themselves a goal down early on and 0-3 behind going into the break. In the second period, the visitors hit on the break soon after the restart to put the match well and truly beyond the hosts.

The low-down

Going into the clash with the 'Fuggerstädtern', VfB had notched up back-to-back wins against newly promoted Ingolstadt (1-0) and Darmstadt (2-0). But going into the international break, the Cannstatt Boys suffered a 0-4 defeat in Munich, seeing them slip back into a relegation position.

Augsburg travelled to Stuttgart with two points from five away games. As the Europa League participants had just six points to their credit after twelve games, trainer Markus Weinzierl’s side were rooted to eighteenth place in the table. Both sides desperately needed all three points if they were to make a move away from the drop-zone.

The line-ups

Alexander Zorniger was forced to make a last minute change between the posts. Przemyslaw Tyton was forced out with a stomach bug and was replaced by Odisseas Vlachodimos, making his third Bundesliga appearance of the season. Following his calf muscle sinew tear, Robbie Kruse failed to make the squad on Saturday. The Australian, who is back in team training, struggled with muscular problems ahead of the tie with FCA.

Augsburg also made just one change to the starting eleven from their last outing, with Dong-Won Ji being replaced from the outset by Alexander Esswein. Highlights

11th minute: The visitors take the lead. A pass splits the VfB defence and finds Alexander Esswein, who tucks the ball home to make it 1-0 for FC Augsburg

17^th minute: Augsburg double their advantage. From a corner, Alexander Esswein lets fly from the edge of the box and the ball takes a deflection off Timo Baumgartl before landing in the back of the VfB net.

20^th minute: VfB look to find a way back into the game. From a free-kick on the right, the FCA defence initially clears the danger, but the ball falls to Emiliano Insua, whose volley from twenty meters out is dealt with by Marwin Hitz.