While ex-coach Fabian Hürzeler dazzles the Premier League St. Pauli is struggling in Germany

AUGSBURG, Germany (AP) — Fabian Hürzeler is the English Premier League’s new star manager after going unbeaten in his first four league games at Brighton. His old club St. Pauli is in trouble already.

The 31-year-old Texas-born coach got Hamburg-based St. Pauli promoted back to the Bundesliga last season for the first time since 2011, but left a month later to join Brighton.

Three games into the Bundesliga season and St. Pauli has yet to earn a point. Now coached by Alexander Blessin, Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Augsburg left St. Pauli in the relegation zone. At least it shed the unwanted record of being the league’s only team yet to score a goal.

New signing Marius Wolf gave Augsburg the lead shortly after halftime with his first Bundesliga goal since August 2022, before Phillip Tietz headed in a second. Carlo Boukhalfa’s header got St. Pauli back into the game but Yusuf Kabadayi’s added-time goal secured the win for Augsburg.

The only team below St. Pauli in the table is the other promoted club, Holstein Kiel, which has three losses and a goal difference of minus 8 after being routed 6-1 by Bayern Munich on Saturday.

Augsburg’s win was its first of the season in the Bundesliga and came three days after coach Jess Thorup was given a contract extension through 2026.

Mainz hosted Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga later Sunday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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