Kingsley Coman scored a first-half brace, twice pulling Bayern back from a one-goal deficit, and David Alaba bagged the winner soon after the break as Bayern Munich stumbled its way to all three points at Augsburg Arena.
Bayern dominated the ball, holding 75% of the game’s possession, but struggled to beat Augsburg on the dribble, with just 10 of 24 attempted take-ons completed. Meanwhile, Augsburg was ruthlessly clinical on the run, and it all began just 15 seconds into the match as right from the opening kickoff the hosts burst down the left and worked the ball into the box resulting in a Leon Goretzka own-goal.
It only took 17 minutes for Coman to pull Bayern level for the first time as Josh Kimmich’s cross went over the head of Robert Lewandowski but fell right at the feet of Coman who touched past a sprawled Gregor Kobel in net. It was apparent that Kobel was put off by the trajectory of the cross, pausing for a moment thinking that Lewandowski might get a head to it and unable to recover after it instead reached the far post.
Still, Augsburg defended well and picked its spots, pulling back in front just six minutes later as a cross from the left by Michael Gregoritsch pinged around to Ji Dong-Won who, despite an awkward angle, cut and curled the ball beautifully into the top-left corner for the lead again.
Bayern would not be deterred as Coman would ease Niko Kovac’s halftime talk by bringing Bayern back level again just before the break. In the third minute of stoppage time, Coman received the ball on the doorstep around to the left and slotted home through the legs of Kobel who will want that effort back.
The visitors began to whir in the second half, creating six chances putting four shots on target. Alaba was the man to grab the all-important touch from a tight angle, powering it through traffic into the back of the net for the lead on 53 minutes. With the hosts trailing for the first time, they were unable to create much up front, bagging just one shot on target from that point on.
Unfortunately for Bayern, Coman was forced off late in the match after Bayern had already used its three substitutions, and Niko Kovac after the match said his injury is “not looking good.” Coman has battled injuries for years at Bayern, missing significant time between last season and the start of this season with an ankle ligament tear, and sidelined the year before that with knee problems.
Bayern’s come-from-behind win moved them to within two points of leaders Borussia Dortmund with the weekend slate of games looming. Dortmund visits last-placed Nurnburg on Monday with a chance to restore the five-point lead it held coming into the weekend.
