The visitors had all the pre-match motivation they needed, along with the desire to end a six-match winless run on the road. Augsburg were spurred on by the fact that a win would mathematically secure their safety, and this resulted in an action-packed first half. After Julian Brandt and Marius Wolf had gone close inside the first 10 minutes, Haller was denied when he took slightly too long to get his shot away from close range, with the defence recovering to prevent what would have been a dangerous opportunity.
The lively Brandt was then denied on two further occasions, firstly from inside the area and then from further out as Tomas Koubek rushed off his line to close down the space after the German had been played in.
The visitors were very much on the back foot in the first half, with Dortmund registering 17 shots to their solitary effort, and their task was made all the more challenging when defender Felix Uduokhai was shown a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Dortmund almost capitalised immediately, but Niklas Sule’s header was kept out by the post.
Edin Terzic’s side must have wondered if it was going to be their day when, nine minutes after the restart, Emre Can’s thunderous effort from just outside the area hit the woodwork and somehow didn’t cross the line.
The pressure from the visitors was relentless as they searched desperately for the all-important goal, and it eventually arrived with the hour mark approaching when Augsburg failed to deal with a ball into the area, and Haller took it around his man before firing in off the post to send the travelling Dortmund contingent wild.
They managed the closing stages well, limiting the hosts’ threat, and they sealed the victory with seven minutes remaining when Haller rolled the ball in after Koubek had palmed it into his path. Brandt put the icing on the cake deep into stoppage time to ensure Dortmund will head into their season finale knowing victory over Mainz will end rivals Bayern Munich’s decade-long stranglehold on the German crown.
Augsburg, meanwhile, are still not out of the woods as their campaign draws to a nervy conclusion, although due to their superior goal difference, a draw on the final day will likely be sufficient to secure their survival.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund)
