Augsburg stage comeback win to snap Bayern’s unbeaten run

Augsburg stunned Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich 2-1 on Saturday to hand their Bavarian rivals a first league defeat since March.

Hiroki Ito’s opener gave the defending champions an early lead but Augsburg fought back with two goals in six second-half minutes from Arthur Chaves and Han-Noah Massengo.

Bayern have been unstoppable this season. They had recorded the best opening half of a season in Bundesliga history and dropped just four of a possible 54 points in 18 games.

Favourites Bayern looked set for a routine victory when Ito headed in a Michael Olise corner after 23 minutes.

Unfancied Augsburg last won a match in early December but fought back when Chaves made the most of a mistake from Bayern’s back-up goalie Jonas Urbig to level with 76 minutes gone.

Massengo then finished off a superb team move to put Augsburg in front and on track for their first win in Munich since 2015.

Olise hit the post deep in stoppage time but Augsburg held on for a memorable victory.

Elsewhere, surprising Hoffenheim tightened their grip on a top-four spot with a come-from-behind 3-1 win at struggling Eintracht Frankfurt.

Frankfurt, who sacked coach Dino Toppmoeller last Sunday, took the lead through Arnaud Kalimuendo with 18 minutes gone.

Hoffenheim turned the game round with three goals in 13 second-half minutes.

Max Moerstedt and Ozan Kabak scored, while Hoffenheim, relegation battlers last season, forced Aurele Amenda into an own goal to solidify their hold on third spot, three points behind second-placed Dortmund.

RB Leipzig eased to a comfortable 3–0 victory over Heidenheim to climb into fourth place, producing a composed and clinical display. Goals from Ridle Baku and Antonio Nusa put Leipzig firmly in control before captain David Raum sealed the win, underlining their growing confidence as they strengthened their push for a Champions League spot.

At the BayArena, Bayer Leverkusen returned to winning ways as former Real Madrid defender Lucas Vázquez struck the decisive goal in a hard-fought 1–0 home success over Werder Bremen. The narrow victory brought an end to Leverkusen’s three-match losing run and offered a timely boost as they looked to steady their season and regain momentum.

The victory took the 2024 Bundesliga champions up to sixth.

Mainz continued their impressive resurgence with a deserved 3–1 victory over Wolfsburg, underlining a remarkable turnaround in fortunes. Rock-bottom at Christmas and seemingly cut adrift at the foot of the table, Mainz have reignited their survival hopes by collecting nine points from their last six matches, a run that has lifted them into the relegation playoff position and firmly back into contention.

On Friday, Hamburg were held to a goalless draw in the derby, as they played out a 0-0 stalemate against St. Pauli.

Despite enjoying the better share of possession and creating chances, Hamburg couldn’t find a breakthrough against their city rivals.

St. Pauli, aware of the stakes in a relegation‑scrap fixture, defended resolutely and had moments late on to snatch the win, but their efforts too were unable to beat either Hamburg’s defence or goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes

The draw keeps both teams locked in the fight for survival, with Hamburg sitting mid-table on 18 points.

Agencies

German League results on Saturday:

Eintracht Frankfurt 1 (Kalimuendo-Muinga 18) Hoffenheim 3 (Moerstedt 52, Kabak 60, Amenda 65-og)

Mainz 3 (Tietz 68, Bell 73, Amiri 83-pen) Wolfsburg 1 (Amoura 3)

Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Vazquez 37) Werder Bremen 0

Bayern Munich 1 Augsburg 2 (Chaves 75, Massengo 81)

Heidenheim 0 RB Leipzig 3 (Baku 62, Nusa 68, Raum 70)