FC Augsburg Faces Mounting Pressure as Wagner Questions Future After Stuttgart Loss
STUTTGART - FC Augsburg suffered another setback in their Bundesliga campaign with a 3-2 defeat to VfB Stuttgart, intensifying scrutiny on head coach Sandro Wagner. Wagner admitted the loss “knocked the switch off a bit,” adding he felt “disappointed and really empty and sad” in a post-match interview with DAZN. Despite the result, club officials have publicly backed Wagner, the former national team assistant coach, but acknowledged his position could become untenable without improved results.
Augsburg players echoed the frustration. Winger Anton Kade stated the team “had the game under control the whole time” and “had good chances,” lamenting the defeat as undeserved, mirroring similar sentiments following a recent 1-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund. Kade emphasized, ”We’re making really good strides, we’re also playing well together.”
Augsburg twice took the lead in Stuttgart through goals from Fabian Rieder (8th minute) and Han-Noah Massengo (26th minute), only to be countered by VfB’s Maximilian mittelstädt (18th minute, penalty) and a brace from Deniz Undav (39th and 80th minutes). A late prospect for Augsburg to equalize fell to Samuel Essende in the 77th minute, but he failed to convert.
The penalty decision awarding Stuttgart their first goal sparked controversy. Defender Keven Schlotterbeck vehemently disputed the call, arguing, “He’s trying to push me away.Then he falls backwards. So how can he fall backwards? How am I supposed to pull him backwards? That’s not physically possible.” Schlotterbeck characterized the incident as a “duel between two bigger people” and claimed it “decided the game.”
Despite the defeat, sporting director Stefan Weber remains optimistic, pointing to strong performances against challenging opponents. He believes Augsburg can secure a victory in their upcoming match against Hamburger SV, stating, “We have to enforce that too.”
Source: ntv.de, tno/dpa/sid
