Augsburg’s 23 Shots Deliver a 3-0 Win Over Schalke

FC Augsburg beat FC Schalke 04 3-0 at the WWK Arena on Sunday, winning the Bundesliga regular-season opener after leading 1-0 at half-time. M. Gregoritsch opened the scoring in the 18th minute, A. Kade doubled the advantage in the 79th, and R. Ribeiro completed the result in the 90th.

Augsburg establish control

Both teams started with a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Manuel Baum managing Augsburg and Miron Muslic in charge of Schalke. Augsburg took the lead when Gregoritsch converted a move assisted by Kade. The hosts carried the greater attacking threat throughout, finishing with 23 total shots to Schalke’s 11 and 12 attempts on target compared with five.

Schalke had more of the ball, recording 53% possession and 462 total passes against Augsburg’s 47% and 390 passes. However, that territorial advantage did not translate into as many clear attacking opportunities. Augsburg produced 17 shots from inside the box, compared with seven for Schalke, and also won 11 corners to the visitors’ three. The expected-goals figures further reflected the hosts’ chance quality, with Augsburg at 3.45 and Schalke at 1.54.

Red card changes the contest

The match’s main disciplinary turning point came in the 62nd minute, when Schalke’s R. Schallenberg was sent off. Schalke made several changes around that moment, including H. Kurucay for M. Wober in the 61st minute and J. Adamu, V. Becker and R. Schallenberg involved in the subsequent reshaping of the team. Augsburg made its first listed substitutions in the 76th minute, sending on M. Komur for R. Fellhauer.

Augsburg had already shown more attacking efficiency, but the dismissal left Schalke facing the final stages with a numerical disadvantage. Kade then added the second goal in the 79th minute, finishing a move supplied by F. Rieder. Rieder was substituted for Y. Keitel in the 83rd minute. In the closing minute, Ribeiro made it 3-0 with Seol Young-Woo providing the assist.

Kade leads the ratings

Kade was the standout performer, receiving a match rating of 9.3 after playing all 90 minutes. He scored once, assisted Gregoritsch for the opener, registered four shots on target and supplied two key passes. Loris Karius was Schalke’s highest-rated player at 8.9, making 10 saves despite the three goals conceded. Finn Dahmen also made four saves for Augsburg.

The result leaves Augsburg listed 11th and Schalke 12th in the supplied Bundesliga table, with both teams shown on zero points from zero games. Augsburg therefore begin the recorded campaign with three goals and a clean-sheet victory, while Schalke’s opening fixture ends in defeat and includes one red card.