Augsburg clinch late victory to hinder Bayer Leverkusens Champions League aspirations

The away team began anxiously when a misplaced clearance landed directly to Ibrahim Maza but Finn Dahmen deflected his follow-up shot over the bar.

Yet he could do nothing to prevent Patrik Schick opening the scoring for Leverkusen with his 75th goal for the side a powerful header from Edmond Tapsobas delivery which marked his fourth goal in four league outings this season.

Prior to the match Leverkusens Bundesliga fixtures had seen the highest average of two goals in the opening period and this pattern held as Augsburg levelled shortly after via Fabian Rieder who latched onto Dimitris Giannoulis pass and fired a shot that appeared to confuse Mark Flekken.

Leverkusen wasted several opportunities to regain the advantage before the interval with Nathan Tella demonstrating his barren run of 22 games without a goal by heading high then pulling a effort wide from a good spot.

Dahmen excelled by diverting Tapsobas header to safety then Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo both missed the target. Rodrigo Ribeiro sent one wide in a scarce chance for Augsburg though the away side owed Dahmen for maintaining parity after his vital double stop to thwart Tella and Schick.

Unlike the opening 45 minutes Flekken faced more action at the start of the second half firstly blocking Giannoulis from close range then pushing Ribeiros attempt aside soon after.

Still Leverkusen posed a danger and Tella could scarcely believe his misfortune having failed to score as he evaded two markers yet fired directly at Dahmen with an empty net ahead. Grimaldo followed up after his brace in the previous home fixture but watched his shot drift past the upright.

The home side kept pressing without success as Maza bent one wide then Tella botched another opportunity letting the ball slip through his legs from near range. It was evidently not their moment and they suffered further frustration when a VAR check rejected penalty claims for Jeffrey Gouweleeuws apparent handball inside the penalty area.

Suddenly the tide turned as Augsburg received a penalty deep into added time when Montrell Culbreath awkwardly challenged Uchenna Ogundu inside the box leaving Rieder the chance to shatter Leverkusen spirits.

The playmaker coolly slotted home the penalty for his second goal of the game securing the away teams first Bundesliga triumph in six matches.

Consequently Leverkusens seven game unbeaten streak in the league ended shifting their attention to the upcoming DFB Pokal semi final versus Bayern Munich midweek. Augsburg meanwhile claim a surprising double over their rivals in the league yet remain in the middle of the standings though this result will live long in the memory of the away fans.