Aubameyang hat trick helps Borussia Dortmund rout Augsburg
BERLIN (AP) — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a hat trick and Shinji Kagawa starred as Borussia Dortmund routed bottom side Augsburg 5-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Ilkay Gundogan combined with Gonzalo Castro before crossing for Aubameyang's tap-in in the 18th minute and Marco Reus made it 2-0 three minutes later, when Kagawa turned a defender one way then the other before crossing for the Germany forward.
Kagawa back-heeled the ball for Reus to claim his second in the 33rd and Aubameyang slid in to convert substitute Adrian Ramos' shot at the far post in the 85th, after Augsburg's Raul Bobadilla had reduced the deficit with a header from a free kick in the 49th.
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Kagawa provided his third assist in injury time, when Aubameyang became the first Dortmund player to score 13 goals in just 10 league games.
"Yesterday I bet with my brother that I would score three goals. I did it today. I'm really happy," said Aubameyang, who said he was giving the ball to his son.
Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed the game with a thigh problem, while Augsburg captain Paul Verhaegh was kept out by a foot injury.
Dortmund stayed seven points behind leader Bayern Munich, which has a perfect record from 10 games.
Brazilian midfielder Raffael scored one and set up another as Borussia Moenchengladbach defeated visiting Schalke 3-1 in the late game.
Lars Stindl gave the home side a deserved lead in the 32nd, beating Benedikt Hoewedes to the rebound after Ralf Faehrmann had saved his penalty. The spot kick was given after Julian Korb fell in a tussle with Dennis Aogo.
The visitors equalized through Andreas Christensen's own goal a minute before the break. The 'Gladbach defender was trying to clear Max Meyer's cross. Meyer had done well to pluck Leroy Sane's initial wayward effort from the air before firing in his cross.
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Raffael produced a brilliant free kick over the wall to the top left corner in the 70th.
Schalke midfielder Johannes Geis was sent off in the 80th for a brutal tackle on Andre Hahn's left leg. The 'Gladbach substitute, who was carried off in obvious pain, was later diagnosed with a fractured shinbone and a tear of the lateral meniscus in his left knee. The club said he would undergo an operation Monday and will be out for the rest of the year at least.
Korb settled the game in the 84th when he was set up by Raffael.
'Gladbach has now won all five league games under interim coach Andre Schubert. Schubert's predecessor Lucien Favre quit after five defeats.
"I'm very proud of my team," Schubert said.
No team had ever before won five straight Bundesliga games following five defeats.
"Borussia showed an incredible amount of confidence and enthusiasm; that's a huge credit to Andre Schubert," Schalke coach Andre Breitenreiter said.
