Augsburg reach Bundesliga summit for first time with 4-1 win over Frankfurt as Mainz rout Hamburg
Augsburg came from behind to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 on Sunday, climbing to first place in the Bundesliga for the first time in club history as Mainz beat Hamburg 5-0.
Second-half turnaround in Frankfurt
Augsburg secured a 4-1 away victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday after recovering from an early deficit. Frankfurt took the lead in the sixth minute when Jonathan Burkardt headed home a lofted pass from Younes Ebnoutalib. The home side controlled chances throughout the first half and took their 1-0 advantage into the interval.
Augsburg altered the contest immediately after the restart. In the 46th minute, debutant Arijon Ibrahimovic scored with a back-post header, an action attributed in Portuguese match reports as an own goal by Elias Baum. Robin Fellhauer scored one minute later to give Augsburg a 2-1 lead. French forward Alexis Claude-Maurice added a third goal on 65 minutes with a strike from the edge of the penalty box. Swiss captain Fabian Rieder sealed the result in the 89th minute, converting a direct free-kick from 20 metres. Portuguese forward Rodrigo Ribeiro appeared for the final 18 minutes of the match for Augsburg.
- Jonathan Burkardt heads Frankfurt ahead 1-0
- Arijon Ibrahimovic equalizes for Augsburg
- Robin Fellhauer scores to put Augsburg ahead 2-1
- Alexis Claude-Maurice makes it 3-1 to Augsburg
- Fabian Rieder scores direct free-kick to make it 4-1
First Bundesliga lead for Augsburg
The victory lifted Augsburg to the top of the Bundesliga table with six points from their opening two fixtures. It is the first time the Bavarian club, promoted to the German top tier in 2011, has ended any matchday in first place. Augsburg hold the top position by virtue of goal difference over SC Freiburg, Borussia Dortmund, and SV Elversberg, who also won their opening two matches to reach six points.
The change at the top follows Bayern Munich's scoreless draw against Schalke on Saturday. That result left Bayern on four points and ended a 67-matchday streak in first place that had lasted more than two years.
- Augsburg
- 6 pts
- Freiburg
- 6 pts
- Borussia Dortmund
- 6 pts
- Elversberg
- 6 pts
- Mainz
- 4 pts
- Bayern Munich
- 4 pts
- Hamburg
- 0 pts
Mainz dominate in Hamburg
In Sunday's other Bundesliga fixture, Mainz earned a 5-0 away win against Hamburg. The result followed an opening weekend scoreless draw against Paderborn, whereas Mainz had lost 4-0 on their previous visit to Hamburg during the prior campaign.
Mainz took the lead in the 19th minute when Kaishu Sano played through Sheraldo Becker, who placed the ball into the bottom corner. Becker provided the second goal in the 41st minute, delivering a low cross converted at the back post by Phillipp Mwene. Becker set up Phillip Tietz in the 48th minute to make it 3-0, before Tietz beat goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes again in the 83rd minute. Former Hamburg forward Ransford-Yeboah Koenigsdoerffer scored Mainz's fifth goal in the second minute of stoppage time. Both Swiss internationals Miro Muheim of Hamburg and Silvan Widmer of Mainz were unavailable due to injury. Hamburg introduced midfielder Fabio Vieira at halftime.
Relegation concerns and coach reaction
The result moved Mainz into fifth position with four points from two fixtures. Hamburg remain in 18th place at the bottom of the table, having recorded two consecutive losses without scoring a goal.
Mainz head coach Urs Fischer reviewed the match following the final whistle.
It was a very good performance. We were in control over the 90 minutes. We really didn't allow much (chances for Hamburg). We are happy to take the three points with us.
