Dortmund's Julian Brandt celebrates after he scored his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
The Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) - With Erling Haaland still injured, Borussia Dortmund needed Julian Brandt to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over Augsburg on Saturday in the Bundesliga.
Brandt filled the gap created by the Norway forward's continued absence, grabbing Dortmund's second goal in the 51st minute with a low shot inside the right post after Marco Reus sent the ball on.
But Dortmund again struggled going forward without the 21-year-old Haaland, who remained out with muscular problems after missing last weekend's defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach and the narrow win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Raphaël Guerreiro opened the scoring with a penalty in the 10th minute after Augsburg captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw raked Donyell Malen's heel with his boot.
Dortmund went on to control the game without creating clear chances and was made to pay when Axel Witsel lost the ball in midfield and Andi Zeqiri equalized on a rebound in the 35th. Arne Maier's initial effort from distance crashed back off the crossbar.
But Brandt came to Dortmund's rescue, cutting inside to elude a defender and letting fly from the edge of the penalty area inside the right post.
Dortmund improved but failed to take any more of its opportunities.
American defender Joe Scally scored his first Bundesliga goal to seal a 3-1 win for Borussia Mönchengladbach at Wolfsburg, which finished with 10 men and slumped to its second straight defeat.
Freiburg claimed a 2-1 win at Hertha Berlin, which has now lost two in a row amid questions over Pál Dárdai's future as coach.
Stuttgart enjoyed a 3-1 win against Hoffenheim.
Leipzig hosted Bochum later Saturday.
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Dortmund's Julian Brandt scores his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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Dortmund's Marco Reus, left, kicks the ball against the crossbar during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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Dortmund's Thorgan Hazard misses to score alone against Augsburg's goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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Dortmund's Manuel Akanji and Augsburg's goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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Dortmund's head coach Marco Rose reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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Augsburg's Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, right, and Dortmund's Marco Reus come face to face during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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Hertha's Stevan Jovetic, left, and Freiburg's Manuel Gulde challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC Berlin and SC Freiburg in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (Soeren Stache/dpa via AP)
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Stuttgart's Marc Oliver Kempf celebrates after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and TSG Hoffenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)
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Gladbach's Breel Embolo, center, celebrates after scoring besides Gladbach's Nico Elvedi, left, and Gladbach's Lars Stindl during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Moenchengladbach in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (Swen Pfoertner/dpa via AP)
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