Manuel Baum: “The result is really bitter for us”

Manuel Baum is disappointed after Augsburg dropped two points late in their home game against Union Berlin.

Augsburg looked to end a three-game winless streak with Alexis Claude-Maurice’s superb strike, but they conceded to ten-man Union Berlin in injury-time. The draw means they’re only three points ahead of the relegation zone at the midpoint of the season.

“The outcome is really bitter for us,” said Augsburg’s interim coach Manuel Baum. “We simply have to be smarter and defend until the end. We also struggled with the ball in the first half, but we really should have made it 2-0 with our counter-attacking opportunities in the second half. So, it feels pretty awful.”

The Man of the Match also emphasised they should’ve defended better in the last minutes with Union Berlin reduced to ten after Derrick Köhn’s straight red card. “We need to be much more clinical. Especially after the red card, we shouldn’t have let the game slip away with a goal like that so close to the end.”

The returnee Michael Gregoritsch was more upbeat in his post-match interview. “It was extremely fun to play at the WWK Arena today,” said the striker, who is back in the Bundesliga this January from Brøndby. “We implemented the basics and deserved the win. The late equalizer obviously hurts, but we’ll take the momentum to get the three points on Sunday.”

Augsburg will host Gregoritsch’s last Bundesliga club on Sunday as Freiburg visit the WWK Arena.