Augsburg hosted Stuttgart in the Bundesliga with both sides yet to claim a point from their opening two games of the season.
The hosts opened the scoring early through Halil Altintop and doubled their lead with a Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker header.
Vedad Ibisevic pulled one back for Stuttgart from the spot near the end of the half, but they were unable to draw level and had substitute Ibrahima Traore harshly sent off for good measure.
Read how the action unfolded below.
Hello again! Thanks for joining me for our second game. Not much more time than to give you the lineups before kickoff. So here they are...
AUGSBURG XI: Hitz; Verhaegh, Callsen-Bracker, Klavan, Ostrzolek; Baier, Hahn, Moravek, Altintop, Holzhauser; Molders
STUTTGART XI: Ulreich; Sakai, Schwaab, Rudiger, Rausch; Gentner, Boka; Abdellaoue, Leitner, Maxim; Ibisevic
One player of note today, with kickoff a minute away, is Raphael Holzhauser playing against his parent club Stuttgart. Will they regret loaning him?
KICKOFF: Here we go then. Gotoku Sakai is down early on following a collision, but he should be ok.
Both sides have started this season just as they did the last, with two defeats. They did not win until matchday six and seven respectively, and on matchday three? A 0-0 draw for both sides...
There are some very talented players on both sides, so we should expect a decent game. I particularly like Moritz Leitner for Stuttgart, the German Under-21 player on loan from Borussia Dortmund. He's playing in behind Vedad Ibisevic and Augsburg will need to be alert to stop him. No real action as yet, although the hosts win a corner off Sakai.
GOAL! Augsburg 1-0 Stuttgart (Halil Altintop)
Augsburg, in green today, have started the brighter team and have an early goal! That's a fantastic cross from Hahn, with Rudiger missing his interception and Altintop hammering into the roof of the net at the back post. Augsburg have their first goal of the season.
BOOKING: Nasty looking challenge there from Verhaegh, who catches Leitner. The Dortmund player is receiving treatment, while Verhaegh is booked - just about right for me, it wasn't bad enough for a red.
First foray forward for Stuttgart. Alexandru Maxim sets Daniel Schwaab away with a lovely one-two, but the defender wastes the chance and fires well over from range.
There must be a heap of pressure on Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia. He has some very good players at his disposal, but 12th last season and this poor start is really not good enough. Rudiger puts himself about in a couple of challenges, and gets away with the first, but gives away a foul for obstruction.
SAVE: Augsburg are a little shaky right now. A really poor bit of play from Ostrzolek gives the ball away to Abdellaoue, but Maxim's effort is parried away by Hitz.
Really good play from Augsburg down the right between Hahn and Holzhauser, but the latter's cross is headed away. He didn't have many teammates to aim at, in fairness.
Konstantin Rausch goes down after jumping with Verhaegh. He comes off for treatment holding his ankle. He landed awkwardly I think.
Good football there between Rausch and Gentner, with the latter then looking for Ibisevic. The striker was short of a yard, however, and the ball is cleared before he can get to it. Stuttgart are just about on top at the moment, but have yet to create a decent chance.
BOOKING: Mohammed Abdellaoue goes into the book for what was really a nothing tackle. I suppose he could have got out the way but didn't.
Good play form Gentner following an attempted backheel from Molders. Ibisevic flicks on the pass, but it's right back with Augsburg. They come forward again as Verhaegh finds Hahn, but his effort is sliced high and wide from the edge of the box.
Some more really nice football from Augsburg as Moravek finds Ostrzolek, who in turn feeds Holzhauser down the left. His cross is initially cut out and his second effort is way too long and goes for a goal kick.
Baier bursts forward through the middle and feeds Hahn to his right. Hahn is deep trying to cross, which gives Sven Ulreich plenty of time to come out and gather the ball.
This has been a consistent spell of Stuttgart pressure, but they seem to lack ideas whenever they get anywhere near the Augsburg box. Dreadful pass from Boka, who puts it about 10 yards behind Rausch in a dangerous position.
GOAL! Augsburg 2-0 Stuttgart (Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker)
Augsburg double their lead! Holzhauser finds an absolute beauty of a delivery with his left peg and the big centre-back nods the ball low past the helpless Ulreich. The two big chances have gone to Augsburg and they have taken them both. The hosts have never lost when Callsen-Bracker has scored, incidentally.
CHANCE! It should be 3-0! A cross comes in from the left is missed completely by Ulreich and it falls to Moravek, who slashes at it going for power and puts it wide. Big, big chance.
PENALTY TO STUTTGART!
GOAL! Augsburg 2-1 Stuttgart (Vedad Ibisevic, pen)
Fine, fine pass across field from to Maxim. Verhaegh slides in recklessly, brings him down. Ibisivic steps up with Hitz guessing right, but sheer power brings Stuttgart right back in this one. Game on!
OFF THE POST! Stuttgart's defending from set pieces has been awful! A corner from Holzhauser comes back off the near post with defenders and Ulreich beaten!
Just a minute of time to be added on at the end of a brilliant first half.
HALF-TIME: Augsburg 2-1 Stuttgart
In truth there have been few chances, but some clinical finishing has produced a thoroughly entertaining half of football. Augsburg lead deservedly, but Stuttgart are far from out of this as it stands.
There is still a lot to come from this game, and I would expect Stuttgart to start the second half strongly. The late goal that they scarcely deserved should act as a wakeup call.
STATISTICS: Well, Augsburg are on top in chances, but the visitors have seen more of the ball. It is 55% possession to the away team, but their four shots is half what the hosts have managed. Augsburg also lead the corner count 6-1.
The players are coming back out, so I'll let you know as soon as I do whether there have been any changes.
STUTTGART SUB: Martin Harnik, and out and out winger, takes his place on the field as he comes on for Leitner. That could mean Abdellaoue moving alongside Ibisevic.
KICKOFF: Stuttgart get us back underway, so let's go!
Maxim steps over a free kick wide on the left, but it's a green head that gets on it, with Sakai slicing the follow up wide from well outside the box.
Stuttgart have started well, with their passing neat, but Augsburg's shape has been solid at the beginning of the half.
Well in from Sakai, who nips in to get the ball and break away. However, he loses out to Holzhauser. However the move is over when Molders cannot direct a header on target.
CLOSE! Callsen-Bracker heads the ball up in the air. It falls to Boka's weakest foot and he controls a volley goalwards. It's probably going wide but Verhaegh comes across to turn it over the bar anyway from under his own bar. It's his last action as Ronny Philp comes on for him.
Neither side is currently on top of this, and its unfortunately not as good a half. There have been a number of niggly fouls just lately and some mishit long balls too.
There's a bit of pressure just building on Stuttgart right now. A couple of corners in a row have caused a threat, and Ulreich had to be alert to clear the first. A foul in the box relieves some of the pressure.
BOOKING: Gentner knows exactly what he's doing there. Sakai's cross is behind his teammates and Augsburg break through Altintop, who is chopped down by Gentner - definitely taking one for the team.
CHANCE: Hahn gets a chance with a header following a cross from Ostrzolek, but hits it straight at Ulreich. Boka makes way for Ibrahima Traore, as Labbadia goes for it.
What an awful touch from Ibisevic. Traore's first touch is to fire in a low cross from deep. Ibisevic manages to control it behind him and, despite looking for Harnik, the chance has gone. If he takes that into his path he's one-on-one.
BOOKING: The Japanese goes into the book for catching Ostrzolek late. The kick comes in and goes straight to Ulreich, who gathers without issue.
They have really not threatened this half, the visitors. Molders goes for the high difficulty triple spin after a challenge from Schwaab, but the replay shows that the centre-back clearly got the ball.
RED CARD! Traore is off! It's a straight red for the former Augsburg man. It's clumsy as he goes in late but it's not dangerous at all! Barely even a booking! The referee has had a shocker. Unbelievable.
I believe that makes it eight red cards in the Bundesliga this weekend. Some have been deserved, but that one there was not. Cacau is preparing to come on with Labbadia furious with that decision.
STUTTGART SUB: Here comes Cacau indeed, and it's a straight swap for Abdellaoue, who has been anonymous.
CLOSE! Rudiger has just got a vital touch to stop a tap-in for Molders. Hahn's cross is straight at the striker but Rudiger throws himself at it and puts it wide.
AUGSBURG SUB: Second change for the hosts, with Tobias Werner replacing Raphael Holzhauser.
CHANCE! A similar opportunity falls to Stuttgart. It's Harnik who drives down the right, but no-one can get to his cut-back which was slightly behind the advancing Stuttgart players.
MISS! Oh dear! Rausch wins a corner with a speculative strike from near enough 30 yards. It comes in and is nowhere near a white shirt as Hahn breaks. Lovely play from him and Molders is free over the top. His first effort is saved, but then he rounds Ulreich and blazes it into the side netting with the goal gaping! Awful effort.
A really good finish to this now as the game is really stretching. Harnik is played in over the top but he cannot get there before Hitz, who gathers.
SAVE! What a stop from the Augsburg keeper. Lovely backheel from Ibisevic and Harnik races on to it, but Hitz is brave to smother it as Harnik prodded towards goal. Brave, brave stuff from the Swiss.
There are just five minutes for Stuttgart to get an equaliser. There's definitely still a goal in this the way it's going, and it really could go either way. Rudiger does brilliantly to outmuscle Molders as the hosts break again.
BOOKING: Hahn goes in from the side and basically behind to pick up a booking. Not much different to Traore's red really, as someone from the crowd comes on the pitch. It's all happening. Action on the sidelines too as Vogt comes on for Altintop.
CLOSE: Moravek suddenly finds himself with space on the edge of the box. He chests it down but can only find the side netting.
We will have three minutes of time added on at the end of this half. Gentner tries a cross from deep but Hitz needs to turn it over the bar. Late pressure.
It's corner after corner, but I think Stuttgart will miss out. Augsburg break with a three on two situation, but they somehow cannot work a chance.
FULL-TIME: Augsburg 2-1 Stuttgart
That was a fantastic game of football, but Augsburg have hung on! All the goals were in the first half but there was no end of drama in the second, including a very harsh red card for Traore.
Thanks for joining me for today's Bundesliga action. Do stick around on site for all the action and reaction from today's sport. Goodbye.
Written by
Matt Domm
Matt Domm
