AUGSBURG — Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund slumped to a shock 2-1 loss at Augsburg Friday as forward Ji Dong-won scored twice to give champion Bayern Munich the chance to draw level at the top.

Dortmund, whose captain and top scorer Marco Reus returned after a month out through injury, is on 54 points, three ahead of Bayern which travels to Borussia Moenchengladbach Saturday.

Dortmund had led the standings by seven points and their second league loss of the season came before next week’s Champions League round of 16 second leg against Tottenham Hotspur following their 3-0 defeat in London last month.

The Ruhr valley club, which beat Bayer Leverkusen last week to end a five-game winless run in all competitions, struggled to reach the Augsburg box and the hard-working hosts took control.

South Korea international Ji, who had signed for Dortmund back in 2014 but left months later after failing to break into the senior team, stunned the visitors in the 24th minute when he shook off two defenders to fire in a cross after Dortmund defender Dan-Axel Zagadou had slipped.

Dortmund, which had two chances late in the first half, was toothless for much of the second period and went 2-0 down when Ji pounced on Achraf Hakimi’s mistake and beautifully chipped the ball past keeper Roman Buerki in the 68th minute.

“We should have won the game today. The opponents rarely had shots on goal but we still lost,” Dortmund coach Lucien Favre said.

“I do not want to talk about the individual mistakes I will have to watch the game again. It was an unnecessary defeat.”

Dortmund substitute Paco Alcacer notched his 13th league goal in the 81st to cut the deficit but despite late pressure they could not find an equalizer as 15th-placed Augsburg held firm to move further away from the relegation zone.

Inter loses to Cagliari

Inter Milan’s hopes of enjoying an untroubled run into the Champions League next season suffered a setback with a shock 2-1 defeat at Cagliari Friday.

Inter remains in third place but can slip to fourth — and the last automatic qualifying spot for the Champions League — if city rival AC Milan sees off Sassuolo at the San Siro Saturday.

Should fifth-placed Roma defeat Lazio Saturday, then it will go level with Inter on 47 points.

Inter, still without unsettled striker and skipper Mauro Icardi, slipped a goal down in Sardinia Friday after 31 minutes when Luca Ceppitelli headed home.

Lautaro Martinez levelled with another header seven minutes later from a cross by former Cagliari player Radja Nainggolan.

But with half-time approaching, Leonardo Pavoletti restored his team’s lead with a smart volley.

Cagliari could have heaped further misery on Inter in stoppage time at the end of the game but Nicolo Barella missed a penalty kick.

Friday’s result represented another twist in a rollercoaster season for Luciano Spalletti’s side.

After defeats to Torino and Bologna, Inter then put together back-to-back wins over Parma and Sampdoria before being held to a 3-3 draw at Fiorentina after having led 3-1. — Agencies