Dortmund go clear despite Aubameyang penalty howler

Berlin (AFP) – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s miserable week continued as he missed a penalty but Borussia Dortmund still ground out a 2-1 win at Augsburg on Saturday to extend their Bundesliga lead.

Star striker Aubameyang followed on his poor performance in Tuesday’s 3-1 Champions League defeat at home to Real Madrid by firing a weak penalty straight at Augsburg goalkeeper Marwin Hitz 10 minutes from time.

Despite last season’s Bundesliga top-scorer squandering the chance to kill off the game, it didn’t prove costly as goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Japan international Shinji Kagawa either side of Caiuby’s equaliser sent Dortmund five points clear at the top.

It was a controversial penalty awarded by the video assistant referee (VAR) after referee Marco Korb missed a foul by Koo Ja-Cheol, South Korea’s ex-captain, on Lukasz Piszczek.

That came after the VAR had earlier failed to award Augsburg a penalty when Dortmund’s Sokratis clearly tugged at the shirt of Brazil midfielder Caiuby.

Dortmund had taken the lead after just four minutes in Bavaria through winger Yarmolenko before Caiuby headed an equaliser.

Kagawa scored what proved to be the winner on 23 minutes with a dream goal when he floated a shot over Hitz following good work from Gabon’s Aubameyang and Yarmolenko.

The result left Dortmund five points clear of Hoffenheim, who are at Freiburg on Sunday, and six ahead of defending champions Bayern Munich, who play Hertha Berlin.

Former full-back Willy Sagnol will lead Bayern after Carlo Ancelotti was sacked in the wake of Wednesday’s 3-0 thrashing at Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League.

Elsewhere, Belgium’s Thorgan Hazard netted a 94th-minute penalty winner, awarded by the VAR, in Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 2-1 home victory over Hanover 96.

Austria international Martin Harnik equalised for Hanover after Mathias Ginter, a member of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad, stabbed the hosts ahead in the second-half.

Hanover stay fourth while Moenchengladbach climb to sixth.

Frenchman Sebastien Haller scored 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt’s dramatic 93rd-minute winner to seal a 2-1 victory at home to VfB Stuttgart.

Frankfurt had French defender Simon Falette sent off for bringing down striker Simon Terodde when he was through on goal after 65 minutes.

Just four minutes earlier, Terodde had equalised with a header after Ante Rebic had given the hosts a first-half lead.

Japan international Yoshinori Muto earned Mainz a 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg Josuha Guilavogui had scored for Wolves, who had France’s Paul-Georges Ntep sent off deep into injury time.