Augsburg’s manager Stefan Reuter does not want to be blinded by the supposedly comfortable cushion on the relegation places. “We’ll still need a number of points and we have to tighten up and improve significantly,” the 56-year-old demanded of his team after the next setback in the Bundesliga. The sports official rated the 1: 3 against the direct table neighbors from Cologne as a “really bad game”. At least Reuter answered the journalists’ questions.
The majority of his players, on the other hand, skilfully ignored the microphones. After the missed step towards relegation, hardly any of the losers really wanted to be interviewed. And so it was up to Captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw to explain the first home defeat in 2023. His sweep hit.
“Sometimes I have the feeling it’s men playing against children. In duels we fall on the ground all the time and that shouldn’t be,” the Dutchman criticized the lack of intensity of his team on the pitch.
The Augsburgers missed a big step towards relegation. Instead, the trembling Swabians are once again preparing for a complicated final sprint of the season. “We’re not in the middle of the relegation battle yet, but it’s still a tough road,” predicted Gouweleeuw. The 31-year-old has been playing for FCA since 2016. He has never had a stress-free final match day.
Coach Enrico Maassen was optimistic. “We’re doing well with 29 points. We’ll score several points in the next few games and then we’ll stay in the league,” said the 39-year-old. That only works if Augsburg gets his individual mistakes under control. “At the moment I have the feeling that every individual mistake will also be punished. That will be our topic for the next few weeks,” announced Maaßen and appealed to his team: “We have to get personnel continuity on the pitch.”
At 0:1 Fredrik Jensen did not defend consistently. At 0:2 Arne Engels overslept a throw-in from Cologne. At 1: 3 it was after all a collective failure of the entire Augsburg defense. “Goals are far too easy,” said Ruben Vargas. In the meantime, the Swiss had caused tension again with his connection goal.
The importance of the duel with the immediate table neighbor was great. But as is so often the case, Augsburg found it difficult against a supposedly equal opponent. “We’re just not there in these crucial games. That’s often been the case. Is it mentality or quality? We have to question ourselves,” Gouweleeuw demanded.
Schedule – Bundesliga Table – Bundesliga Squad – FC Augsburg Squad – 1. FC Köln Info about the game
