FC Augsburg reactions to topsy-turvy defeat to Bayern Munich

Augsburg came out of the gates flying but couldn’t sustain.

FC Augsburg put a strong foot forward against FC Bayern Munich yet again, but it wasn’t nearly enough for a result in this Bavarian derby.

“We started the game well, but should’ve been more determined and defended better,” said head coach Enrico Maaßen (via FCBayern.com). “We played openly after going behind and scored three goals –- that’s a positive. If you concede five, you don’t have a chance of getting a point here. Bayern also have great quality at set pieces. We deserved to lose.”

Center-back Jeffrey Gouweleeuw also highlighted his team’s set piece performance. If there’s one weakness to exploit in the Rekordmeister, it just might be their vulnerability on set piece defense; Paris Saint-Germain’s Sergio Ramos recently demonstrated with some commanding aerial ability in the second leg of their Champions League clash, even though Bayern keeper Yann Sommer was always there to deny him from scoring. This time, however, it was Bayern that delivered the goods from the dead ball.

“It was very good at the start, scoring an early goal,” Gouweleeuw said. “We started well, but then didn’t do well. We didn’t press well enough up front. Bayern then showed their quality. You can’t defend everything against Bayern, but you can’t concede goals from set pieces against Bayern.”

Finally, striker Mërgim Berisha weighed in on Augsburg’s faulty start. Though he himself got things flying with an excellent and opportunistic scoop-and-score in just the 2nd minute, Bayern hit back four times before the half-time whistle blew.

“The result after the first half was too high. We weren’t ready,” Berisha said. “We made four changes in the second half, which gave us new impetus. We were more active, but you can’t play how we did in the first half.”

Still, Augsburg have a respectable record against the champions this season, DFB-Pokal include. Six goals in three games and one win to two defeats — Bayern’s fellow Bavarians have always been ready to deliver a challenge.