Elversberg 4-3 Augsburg: Four Penalties Rock a VAR Epic

Four penalties awarded, a fifth overturned at the pitchside monitor, a goal scrubbed out for offside and seven that stood. Even at the end, nobody at the Kaiserlinde could be sure it was over. SV Elversberg beat FC Augsburg 4–3 in a Bundesliga afternoon run by VAR as much as by football.

The decisive blow was Frederik Schmahl's 89th-minute goal, which survived Mert Kömür's instant reply. Then Noel Futkeu, handed the day's fourth penalty deep in stoppage time, smashed it off the crossbar. Augsburg's final appeal for a spot-kick came to nothing.

Newly promoted Elversberg, from the smallest town in Bundesliga history, rise to sixth. Augsburg are now four league games without a win, and they lost this one in the first half-hour, not the last.

Petkov and Günther punish their former club early

Even the ball misbehaved: inside two minutes, play stopped to replace a flat one. VAR then confirmed a penalty for a handball by Chrislain Matsima. Lukas Petkov's kick was saved by the legs of Finn Dahmen, but he buried the rebound in the 4th minute.

Three minutes later Elversberg broke straight from an Augsburg corner, and Lasse Günther curled Maurice Krattenmacher's square pass into the far right corner. Both scorers are former Augsburg players, which only deepened the wound. For a side that finished with only 40% of the ball, it was a lesson in using it quickly.

On 28 minutes Felix Keidel's inswinging corner from the left found Maximilian Rohr, who rose centrally to glance a header into the far corner. That made three goals in under half an hour, and Augsburg had barely stirred. The hosts' only setback was physical, with Noah Darvich and Jan Gyamerah both forced off before the break.

VAR delay hands Rieder an Augsburg lifeline

The longest pause of the day came in first-half stoppage time. Florian Exner and VAR Günter Perl spent several minutes reviewing a handball against Rohr, and the drawn-out procedure became a frustration in itself. The offender was the same Rohr who had headed Elversberg's third earlier in the half.

When the penalty finally came, Fabian Rieder placed it into the bottom corner. It was his second league goal of the season, and it sent Augsburg in at 3–1 with a foothold they had barely earned.

Gregoritsch leads the fightback as the monitor keeps calling

Jeffrey Gouweleeuw came on at half-time for his 274th Bundesliga appearance for Augsburg, equalling Daniel Baier as the club's joint record appearance maker in the top flight. Around him, the visitors seized control.

They finished with 60% of the ball, 29 shots to 19 and 12 corners to four. Yet both sides put exactly eight efforts on target. Elversberg simply needed fewer looks to do the same damage.

On 76 minutes Lukas Pinckert fouled Hennes Behrens, and Michael Gregoritsch sent Nicolas Kristof the wrong way, slotting into the left corner for 3–2. Gregoritsch now has four league goals this season and has scored in three of Augsburg's last six league games.

Three minutes later Raif Adam, a debutant introduced in the 78th minute, thought he had made it 4–2, but VAR ruled it out for a tight offside. On 87 minutes Exner pointed to the spot for Augsburg over a handball by Luca Sirch, then reversed the call after viewing the pitchside screen. Tempers stayed close to the surface, with Elversberg collecting four yellow cards and Augsburg three.

Schmahl strikes before Futkeu hits the bar

The winner came in the 89th minute. Petkov beat Behrens on the right wing and delivered a low cross, and Schmahl swept home first time for 4–2.

Augsburg answered seconds later, straight from kickoff, as Kömür took space inside the box and drove a precise low shot into the bottom right corner. A fifth goal would have ended all argument. Futkeu won a penalty after a tangle with Calvin Brackelmann, took it himself and hit the crossbar. In the final seconds, Augsburg's claims for another handball penalty were waved away without an on-field review, leaving deep frustration on the away bench.

Rohr captured the mood: "Nach Abpfiff konnte man sich gar nicht richtig freuen, weil man nicht wusste, ob noch was passiert." Even after the whistle, nobody quite dared to celebrate.

Elversberg's Vincent Wagner planned a gentler evening: "Ich gehe in die warme Badewanne, guck mir nebenbei in Ruhe noch mal das Spiel an, dann kann ich es mir angucken mit ein bisschen Freude." He wanted a warm bath and a calm rewatch, this time with some joy.

A capacity crowd of 9,307, watching amid ongoing construction work, saw a side the national press praised for its "Vollgasfußball" climb to sixth on 10 points. Augsburg, tenth on eight, were credited for their resilience, but resilience does not earn points.

Augsburg have scored in each of their last six league games, 16 goals in all, and still cannot find a win. That is the question now facing them: what good is a fightback if the opening half-hour keeps digging the hole?