Palacios comes to the rescue as Leverkusen leave it late to oust Augsburg
With a remarkable 25 matches unbeaten already under their belts before the winter break, Leverkusen’s attempts to extend that record start to a campaign by a German club were surprisingly muted in the early stages.
The icy conditions surely played a part, but both Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick soon found their groove to test Finn Dahmen, who was still waiting for a maiden Bundesliga clean sheet on his 30th appearance in the competition.
Recent positive results against the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund suggested Augsburg wouldn’t go away quietly to the league leaders, and Ermedin Demirović whipped one wide from outside the area, before Grimaldo thundered against the bar himself from distance for the visitors. Dahmen was on hand again to keep out Robert Andrich’s header before the break, leading to an unlikely half-time scoreline given that Leverkusen had been ahead after 45 minutes on a league-high 11 occasions this campaign.
The away side’s inability to find the target ensured things remained in the balance as proceedings got back underway, and the best chance of the match soon fell the way of the hosts.
The ever-dangerous Demirovic raced away and rounded Lukas Hradecky, but sliced wide with the goal at his mercy, before Phillip Tietz had his strike ruled out for offside. The introduction of Florian Wirtz brought promise for Leverkusen, but Augsburg stopped wave after wave of attack to ensure a nail-biting final few minutes.
And there was ultimately a cruel twist for the home side, as Grimaldo’s ball was brought under control and smashed in from close range by Palacios, preserving Leverkusen’s position at the summit of the Bundesliga table.
Augsburg were ever so close to a first league clean sheet of the campaign, but they ultimately extended their winless run to four competitive matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Finn Dahmen (Augsburg)
