Moukoko bags brace in 5-1 masterclass against Augsburg

Borussia Dortmund faced FC Augsburg on Bundesliga Matchday 32, between the two Champions League matches against Paris Saint-Germain. A BVB team with 10 changes won 5-1 (4-1).

Boris Rupert reporting

The 81,365 spectators at a sold-out SIGNAL IDUNA PARK witnessed a lively game with five goals in the first period. Double-goalscorer Youssoufa Moukoko (4/30), Donyell Malen (20) and Marco Reus (34) fired their team into a 4-1 lead, with Ruben Vargas netting for the opposition (32). Felix Nmecha scored to make it 5-1 in the 64th minute and secure the biggest win of the season.

The scenario:   Fifth versus eighth. Only three places but 18 points separated the two teams prior to kick-off. Four of the previous six Bundesliga meetings had ended in victory; Borussia had scored at least three goals in 13 of the 25 prior clashes.

Personnel matters: With the exception of Haller, who is carrying a niggle, and the injured Bensebaini (knee) and Duranville (muscle), the entire squad was available. Three days after and three days before the games against PSG, only Gregor Kobel remained from the first leg line-up. All 10 outfield positions were filled by new faces, among them debutant Kjell Wätjen (18).

Tactics:    The new-look BVB, who operated in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Wätjen alongside Nmecha in holding midfield and Reus in the middle of an attacking triumvirate, bypassed the midfield with precise diagonal balls and found the spaces in the Augsburg rearguard, even though the visitors were defending with a back five. FCA lined up in a 3-3-2-2 formation when in possession.

The match & analysis: The match was a matter of minutes old when the scoreboard switched to 1-0. Malen broke through the midfield dynamically in a centre-right position and crossed the ball towards the left post, where Bynoe-Gittens played a cutback to Reus. Uduokhai attempted to clear the ball but unluckily steered it towards his own goal, where Pedersen deflected it and Moukoko provided the decisive change of direction on the ball with his back to goal.



BVB went about their business full of enthusiasm and attacked quickly and precisely. Wätjen played a great pass in the 16th minute to Malen, but his shot was kept out by goalkeeper Koubek. Augsburg made their first dangerous attacking foray in the 19th minute. Maier was afforded lots of spaces in the box but Padadopoulos steered the ball behind for a corner with his back. Rather than 1-1, the score was 2-0 seconds later. Bynoe-Gittens broke through down the left flank and crossed towards the back post, where Malen came rushing in and headed the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. The next major opportunity was initiated by a possession turnover from Wolf after almost half an hour: Wätjen played the ball perfectly into the path of Malen, who was, however, denied once again by a strong save from Koubek.

The goals then came thick and fast, with three scored in the space of four minutes. BVB first made it 3-0. The missed opportunity from Malen led to a corner-kick which was delivered by Reus into the middle, where the Augsburg duo of Uduokhai and Koubek got in each other's way and Moukoko touched the ball over the line with his thigh (30). At the other end, Morey initially kept the ball from crossing his own goal-line but Vargas had the opportunity on the follow-up and converted it (32). Within only two minutes, however, Reus had re-established the three-goal advantage: Wätjen played an outstanding pass from his own half into the path of Reus, who went clean through on Koubek and lobbed the ball over him into the left corner (34).

The second period got off to a more subdued start from a Dortmund perspective as the visitors no longer had so many gaps in their defence and attacked with more purpose. Augsburg came close to a second goal on several occasions through Maier (58), Gouweleeuw (61) and in particular Demirovic, who was denied by a strong stop from Kobel (61), only for Borussia to increase their lead to 5-1 with their first dangerous attack after the interval. Following a lovely piece of link-up play, Reus cut the ball back from the byline on the right towards Nmecha, who coolly slotted home from 16 metres out to make it 5-1 (64).



The hardest-running player on the pitch up until that point then missed out on his second goal and his fourth scorer point only narrowly. Following a pass from Adeyemi, Reus ran at Koubek and nutmegged the Augsburg goalie but the ball took a deflection off his heel and hit the bar (65). A short while later, the former captain received a standing ovation from the crowd as he was substituted. Tactically, Borussia made a switch to a 4-3-3 with Wätjen (right) and Schlotterbeck (left) in the full-back positions.

Outlook: Monday will see the team fly to Paris, where the semi-final return leg against PSG will take place at 21:00 CEST on Tuesday. That will be followed by an away game against 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga next Saturday (18:30 CEST).

Teams & goals

Bundesliga Matchday 32 BORUSSIA DORTMUND 5-1 (4-1) FC AUGSBURG



Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Wolf (Özcan, 62), Süle, Papadopoulos, Morey (Schlotterbeck, 62) – Nmecha (Sabitzer, 73), Wätjen – Malen (Adeyemi, 62), Reus (Brandt, 66), Bynoe-Gittens – Moukoko FC Augsburg: Koubek – Gouweleeuw, Bauer (Pfeiffer, 66), Uduokhai – Mbabu, Breithaupt (Engels, 78), Pedersen – Vargas (Dorsch, 66), Maier (Kömür, 73) – Tietz (Beljo, 66), Demirovic Substitutes: Meyer, Sancho, Füllkrug, Can – Lubik, Pep Biel, Michel Goals: 1-0 Moukoko (4), 2-0 Malen (Bynoe-Gittens, 20), 3-0 Moukoko (Reus, 30), 3-1 Vargas (Maier, 32), 4-1 Reus (Wätjen, 34), 5-1 Nmecha (Reus, 64) Corners: 6-9 (1-4 at half-time), chance ratio: 10-6 (6-2) Referee: Schröder (Hanover), yellow card: – Bauer Attendance: 81,365 (sold-out), weather: bright, 17 degrees