Borussia Dortmund suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday, leaving them with 10 men on the field as they faced their second loss in five days. Alexis Claude-Maurice scored twice for Augsburg, adding to Dortmund's woes after their 5-2 defeat at Real Madrid on Tuesday, where they squandered a 2-0 lead in the Champions League. Dortmund, who were Champions League finalists last season, have yet to win any of their four away games in the Bundesliga this season and remain in seventh place with 13 points, following two defeats and one win in their last three league games.
The latest loss has intensified the pressure on coach Nuri Sahin, who is in his first season at the helm. Sahin has faced heavy criticism for his team's inability to hold onto their 2-0 lead against Real Madrid, conceding five goals in the second half. Meanwhile, RB Leipzig has provisionally taken the top spot with 20 points, securing a 3-1 home victory over Freiburg. Bayern Munich, in second place with 17 points, will play at Bochum on Sunday.
Dortmund got off to a perfect start with Donyell Malen scoring in the fourth minute. However, their attack faltered in the first half, and Augsburg equalized unexpectedly in the 25th minute when Claude-Maurice broke through, facing no resistance from four players and plenty of space to score from 25 yards out. The Frenchman, making his first league start for Augsburg, netted his second goal just five minutes after the restart, curling a low shot into the net from the edge of the box.
In other news, Giovanni Di Lorenzo's second-half goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win for Napoli over struggling Lecce on Saturday. Napoli extended their unbeaten run to eight games, stretching their lead at the top of Serie A. Napoli now have 22 points, five ahead of defending champions Inter, who will face third-placed Juventus in Sunday's Derby d'Italia. Di Lorenzo's goal, which came in the 73rd minute after his initial effort was saved, proved decisive at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
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