Borussia Dortmund’s terrible away performance continued with a 2-1 defeat to Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday, increasing the pressure on coach Nuri Sahin.
This marked Dortmund’s fourth consecutive away loss across all competitions, including a 5-2 defeat at Real Madrid on Tuesday. As a result, the team is now seven points behind the new Bundesliga leader, Leipzig.
The poor results have left key players and sporting director Sebastian Kehl confused. “I’m annoyed by the many goals we’re conceding,” Kehl said. “We’ve been addressing this intensively but now we’re standing here having to explain things that I can’t explain.”
Alexis Claude-Maurice made his first start for Augsburg since joining in August and scored two long-range goals to turn the game around after Dortmund took an early lead with a goal from Donyell Malen.
The match ended with 18-year-old Dortmund defender Almugera Kabar receiving a red card for two yellow cards on his Bundesliga debut. American forward Cole Campbell also made his debut.
Sahin, who became the coach after Edin Terzic left following Dortmund’s loss in the Champions League final last season, has already faced questions about his tactics after the team gave up a two-goal lead in the Madrid match.
Sahin may have to deal with missing defenders Waldemar Anton and Julian Ryerson, along with midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, for another away game on Tuesday at Wolfsburg in the German Cup, as all three left the match on Saturday with injuries.
