Kingsley Coman shines as Bayern Munich survive Augsburg scare
Kingsley Coman scored two and made another as Bayern Munich twice came from behind away to local rivals Augsburg to win 3-2 in the Matchday 22 opener on Friday evening.
Augsburg 2-3 Bayern Munich
Goals: 1-0 Goretzka (o.g. 1'), 1-1 Coman (17'), 2-1 Ji (24'), 2-2 Coman (45+3'), 2-3 Alaba (53')
Augsburg got off to the perfect start, scoring one of the fastest goals in Bundesliga history as Leon Goretzka inadvertently turned Philipp Max's left-wing cross into his own net after a matter of seconds. Undeterred, Niko Kovac's side worked their way into the game and deservedly equalised when the lively Coman finished Joshua Kimmich's cross from the right. If the stage seemed set for Bayern to run away with the game, Augsburg had other ideas, scoring an almost identical goal to their first, only this time Dong-Won Ji was the beneficiary of Max's cut-back when he rifled an unstoppable shot past Manuel Neuer. However, Coman restored parity once again on the stroke of half-time, rifling in a low shot from Goretzka's pass.
That proved to be the turning point in the game as it allowed Bayern to begin the second period with renewed vigour. They immediately went on the front foot and it wasn't long before they took the lead for the first time, Coman flicking the ball to David Alaba, who rifled in a shot from a tight angle on the left. To their credit, Augsburg never gave up but failed to seriously trouble Neuer's goal again, while at the other end Coman almost grabbed a hat-trick, only to see his header glance off the bar. It remained a gripping local derby and one Bayern ultimately deserved to win, thereby reducing the deficit to leaders Borussia Dortmund - who play on Monday - to two points.
Match stats
- Goretzka's own goal – after approximately 15 seconds – was the fastest goal scored in the Bundesliga this season and Augsburg's fastest ever.
- It was Goretzka's first own goal as a Bayern player, but second in the Bundesliga overall. His first was as while he was still at Schalke, in a game against Bayern no less, in a 3-1 defeat on 21 November 2015.
- Coman netted his first brace since grabbing two in an 8-0 win over Hamburg on 25 February 2017.
- This was the first time ever that Augsburg scored more than once against Bayern in a competitive game.
- Ji's strike was his first ever against Bayern and just his second of the season.
- Bayern hit the bar twice in this game, meaning they have struck the woodwork 13 times this season – more than any other team bar Hoffenheim (also 13).
Watch: Hummels happy with Bayern's fighting spirit in Augsburg comeback
Line-ups
Augsburg: Kobel – Oxford, Danso, Stafylidis (Richter 69') – Schmid, Gregoritsch, Khedira, Max (c) – Moravek (Koo 78'), Cordova, Ji
Unused subs: Giefer, Götze, Stanic, Callsen-Bracker, Jensen
Out: Baier (suspended), Finnbogason (knock), Framberger (knee), Gouweleeuw (groin), Luthe (knee), Schieber (muscle), Hahn (calf)
Coach: Manuel Baum
Bayern: Neuer (c) – Kimmich, Süle, Hummels, Alaba – Thiago (Martinez 82'), Goretzka – Gnabry (Ribery 64'), James (Müller 56'), Coman – Lewandowski
Unused subs: Ulreich, Rafinha, Boateng, Sanches
Out: Robben (thigh), Tolisso (knee)
Coach: Niko Kovac
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