Dortmund beats Augsburg to close the gap to Bayern
Karim Adeyemi and Luca Reggiani were on target as Borussia Dortmund dispatched Augsburg 2-0 and closed the gap to Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich.
Goals from Karim Adeyemi and Luca Reggiani enabled Nico Kovac's side to take advantage of Bayern's dramatic 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen, putting a small amount extra pressure on the defending champion.
Dortmund took the lead after 13 minutes when Maximilian Beier's deflected cross sat up nicely for Adeyemi to fire into the back of the net.
The crossbar twice denied Dortmund in the space of six minutes before half-time, with Beier thwarted before Adeyemi saw a powerful effort after a fluid move crash into the woodwork.
The hosts remained in complete control added to their tally in the 59th minute, with 18-year-old defender Reggiani steering Julian Ryerson's corner home for his first senior goal.
Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen made impressive saves to keep Adeyemi and substitute Serhou Guirassy at bay as Dortmund cruised to an important three points.
Sebastian Kehl said everyone at Borussia Dortmund was revelling in Reggiani's happiness after the youngster netted his first senior goal.
Reggiani, at 18 years and 64 days, became the youngest Italian to score in one of Europe's big five leagues, excluding Serie A, since Pietro Pellegri in 2018. He is also the youngest Italian to score a goal in Bundesliga history.
"First goal, brilliantly played! When you score a goal, it naturally stands out even more," Dortmund sporting director Kehl of Reggiani.
"The way he celebrated – that was pure joy, coming from deep within – and the reward for many, many years of hard work.
"Everyone shared in his happiness, and he'll sleep well."
But Kovac was particularly impressed by Adeyemi's relationship with Beier, which has become key to Dortmund's run of positive results.
"I think they did great," Kovac said of the duo.
"They also play big buddy to one another. They do everything together from early [in the morning] to late [in the evening].
"I wanted to play with two strikers. Three strikers would have left us unable to make more of an impact deep. That was my intention and it worked."
