DFB Pokal Review: Bayern eliminate holders Wolfsburg, Eintracht Frankfurt shocked

Bayern Munich have ended Wolfsburg’s ambitions of winning a second consecutive DFB-Pokal as Thomas Muller and Douglas Costa guided the Bundesliga champions to a 3-1 win at the Volkswagen Arena.

Muller missed an early chance to open the scoring, but Costa did break the deadlock in the 15th minute with a stunning long-range strike.

The Germany international then doubled Bayern’s lead shortly after when he coolly converted David Alaba’s cross from the left. Muller then made it three with a superb volley, only to be denied a hat-trick by Diego Benaglio’s save minutes later.

Pep Guardiola’s men eased off somewhat after the interval and Andre Schurrle would eventually get one back in the dying minutes of the game, but it was too late for the hosts to stage a comeback.

Eintracht Frankfurt were shocked by 3.Liga side Erzgebirge Aue as Max Wegner sent the underdogs through with his 74th-minute goal sealing 1-0 away upset.

Hertha Berlin avoided a similar fate in their away game against 2.Bundesliga outfit FSV Frankfurt. 

Timm Golley gave the hosts the lead shortly after the interval, but Salomon Kalou levelled the scoring to send the game into extra-time, before netting his second of the evening to send Hertha through 2-1. Marvin Plattenhardt’s late dismissal meant Pal Dardai’s visitors ended the match with 10 men.

Mainz did crash out of the competition against a 2.Bundesliga team, though, going down at home to 1860 Munich. Florian Niederlechner gifted the hosts an early lead, but Pierre Bengtsson’s red card on the verge of half-time would cost them. Stefan Mugosa levelled the scoring in the 70th minute, with Rubin Okotie making it 2-1 just seven minutes later.

Darmstadt recorded a 2-1 home win over Hannover to book their ticket for the next round. Aytac Sulu opened the scoring in the 74th minute, only for Artur Sobiech to restore parity within 60 seconds. Sandro Wagner netted the hosts’ second with 10 more minutes on the clock to decide the game.

Nuremberg, meanwhile, made light work of Fortuna Dusseldorf. Guido Burgstaller, Hanno Behrens, Niclas Fullkrug and Tim Leibold made it 4-0 at half-time, with Danny Blum making it five before Kerem Demirbay netted a consolation goal in the 71st minute.

Ambitious 2.Bundesliga side RB Leipzig were eliminated by Regionalliga outfit Unterhaching following a 3-0 loss. Markus Einsiedler and Marco Rosenzweig found the net before the break, with Thomas Steinherr putting the match to bed halfway through the second half.

Finally, Bochum progressed to the next round following a narrow 1-0 win over Kaiserslautern, Chris Lowe’s own goal making the difference.