Raul Bobadilla scored the only goal of the game as Augsburg earned a 1-0 victory over FC Koln to climb out of the relegation zone.
Anthony Modeste missed a penalty for the hosts before the breakthrough arrived for Augsburg, who relieved the pressure on manager Markus Weinzierl by moving his team up to 15th in the table.
On a day when clear opportunities were rare, the home side came close to taking an early lead when Marcel Risse's curling free kick forced Marwin Hitz into a fine save.
Bobadilla always looked a threat to his markers with clever runs off the ball and he came close to opening the scoring in the first half when Timo Horn pushed his powerful strike to safety.
Augsburg continued to cause problems for Koln either side of the break, but it was the hosts who were gifted the chance to take the lead when Ragnar Klavan brought down Philipp Hosiner in the box.
Modeste was unable to capitalise as he slipped while taking the spot kick and Hitz guessed correctly to push the penalty past the post.
The missed chance was punished just six minutes later when Bobadilla curled a 25-yard free kick over the wall with Horn looking on helplessly.
Despite being pushed back after taking the lead, Augsburg could have wrapped up the win when Tim Matavz avoided one challenge in a congested box before dragging a shot wide.
Yuya Osako had the chance to secure a point for Koln in stoppage time, but he could only head wide from a corner as Augsburg held on for a crucial victory.
Callum Mulvihill
