Bundesliga
Augsburg kicked their season off with a ruthless display to down Freiburg 3-1 on the road to claim their first three points of the Sandro Wagner era with goals from Dimitrios Giannoulis, Chrislain Matsima and Marius Wolf making for a rampant first-half performance.
Freiburg 1-3 Augsburg
Goals: 0-1 Giannoulis 32’, 0-2 Matsima 42’ (assist: Kömür), 0-3 Wolf 45’+2, 1-3 Grifo pen. 58‘
The hosts entered the match with impressive opening-day credentials, having won their first fixture in each of the previous three campaigns. For the visitors, all eyes were on new head coach Sandro Wagner making his Bundesliga managerial debut after both sides had successfully navigated their way through the DFB Cup first round with identical 2-0 victories the previous weekend.
Freiburg started brightly and thought they had taken the lead on 17 minutes when Lucas Höler cleverly lobbed Finn Dahmen, only for VAR to rule the striker narrowly offside.
The hosts continued to dominate possession but were caught out against the run of play in the 32nd minute when Giannoulis fired Augsburg ahead, his shot taking a crucial deflection off Lukas Kübler to wrong-foot Noah Atubolu.
The visitors doubled their advantage ten minutes later when Matsima rose highest to powerfully head home Mert Kömür's corner.
Incredibly, Wagner's men weren't finished there, adding a third in first-half stoppage time as Wolf capitalised on a Freiburg error, sprinting clear from inside his own half before coolly slotting past Atubolu.
Julian Schuster's men emerged from the dressing room with renewed determination and were given a lifeline in the 58th minute when VAR intervened to award a penalty for Jeffrey Gouweleeuw's handball. Vincenzo Grifo stepped up and emphatically converted, ending Freiburg's run of six consecutive missed penalties in the Bundesliga.
The goal energised both the crowd and the home team, with Höler seeing a shot brilliantly cleared off the line by Matsima while Matthias Ginter's powerful header was spectacularly saved by Dahmen.
Despite a superior xG of 3.04 compared to Augsburg's 1.22, Freiburg couldn't find another breakthrough as Wagner's well-organised side defended resolutely through 11 minutes of added time to secure all three points.
On a day of impressive Augsburg performances, Wolf stood out with a display that combined defensive diligence with devastating attacking impact.
His goal epitomised his contribution – winning possession through aggressive pressing before demonstrating remarkable stamina and composure to race the length of the pitch and finish clinically.
His willingness to support both attack and defence was crucial to Wagner's tactical plan, consistently providing an outlet for his defenders while creating problems for Freiburg's backline.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Freiburg 3.04 - Augsburg 1.22
Fastest player: Yuito Suzuki (Freiburg), 34.24 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 0-1 by Dimitrios Giannoulis (Augsburg), 8 percent
Most pressed player: Lucas Höler (Freiburg), 25 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), +2.5
Fantasy Heroes: Dimitrios Giannoulis (Augsburg, 284 Points), Marius Wolf (Augsburg, 282 Points), Finn Dahmen (Augsburg, 245 Points)