Augsburg stun Bayern to hand leader first league defeat

FC Augsburg came from behind to beat Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich 2-1 away in the 19th round on Saturday, handing the German giant its first league loss of the 2025-26 season and giving Augsburg a major boost in its relegation battle, reported Xinhua.

Bayern dominated possession but created little and, against the run of Augsburg's early ambition, took the lead in the 23rd minute when Hiroki Ito headed in a Michael Olise corner from close range.

The hosts threatened to pull away before the break, with Finn Dahmen saving from Luis Diaz, but Augsburg stayed alive and almost leveled in stoppage time as Robin Fellhauer's tight-angle drive struck the crossbar.

Augsburg raised the tempo after the restart, pressing higher and forcing errors. Alexis Claude-Maurice tested Jonas Urbig early in the second half as Bayern struggled to reassert control.

The pressure finally told in the 75th minute when Arthur Chaves glanced a corner into the net after Urbig and Jonathan Tah misjudged the delivery.

Augsburg completed the turnaround in the 81st minute as Dimitrios Giannoulis broke forward and squared for Han-Noah Massengo, who slid a low finish past Urbig.

Bayern threw men forward for an equalizer, but Olise's late curling effort clipped the crossbar deep into stoppage time as Augsburg held on.

It was Bayern's second defeat in all competitions this season, following an earlier Champions League loss to Arsenal.

"We knew that if we wanted to win it would not be easy, and that is why we had great respect for Augsburg," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.

"We must not become too small now. Respect to Augsburg, they deserved to win. We must move on and react, and now we must accept that today was not our day," he added.

Elsewhere, second-placed Borussia Dortmund took advantage of Bayern's slip to cut the gap to eight points after a 3-0 victory over Union Berlin. Hoffenheim remained third with a 3-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig climbed into fourth by beating bottom side Heidenheim 3-0.

Bayer Leverkusen edged Werder Bremen 1-0 through a goal from Lucas Vazquez. Relegation-threatened Mainz claimed a crucial 3-1 win, while St. Pauli and Hamburg played out a goalless draw on Friday.