Holders Borussia Dortmund booked their place in the third round of the German Cup on Tuesday with a 4-1 win at second-division VfR Aalen as several of their Germany stars got on the scoresheet.
Having beaten Bayern Munich 5-2 in last season's final, Dortmund took the lead in their second-round tie at Aalen after only 22 minutes as Germany centre-back Mats Hummels fired home.
Left-back Marcel Schmelzer then doubled the lead ten minutes later.
Midfielder Mario Goezte grabbed Dortmund's third when he drew the Aalen goalkeeper and fired home on 49 minutes at the sold-out Scholz Arena in front of 13,251 fans.
Dortmund midfielder Julian Schieber came off the bench for Goetze to claim the fourth in the 79th minute, but Aalen pulled a goal back when midfielder Michael Klauss curled in a stunning free-kick on 87 minutes from a tight angle.
"I had fun just watching. We have a pretty good team and we deserved to go through," said Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp.
Schalke 04 also made light work of second-division opposition as the Royal Blues enjoyed a 3-0 win at home to SV Sandhausen, but coach Huub Stevens was not entirely happy.
"We started well, but at 1-0 up there wasn't enough tension in the team and we hadn't done enough," said the Dutchman.
"However, we are into the next round and we could give a few players a rest, but only a little one."
Dutch midfielder Ibrahim Afellay put the hosts ahead on 11 minutes before a spectacular bicycle kick from Romania striker Ciprian Marica on 62 minutes doubled the hosts lead at the Veltins Arena.
Holland striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar netted the third on 79 minutes.
Having stunned Bundesliga side Hoffenheim 4-0 in the first round, fourth-division Berliner AK 07 were beaten 3-0 in the capital by 1860 Munich from the second division.
Bundesliga duo Freiburg and Augsburg eased their way into Saturday's draw with wins at second-division sides Braunschweig and Muenster respectively.
Second-division Cologne needed a penalty shoot-out to win at fourth division Wormatia Worms and seal a 4-3 victory after it finished goalless despite extra time.
On Wednesday, Bayern host second-division Kaiserslautern at Munich's Allianz Arena while Bayer Leverkusen, who stunned Bayern 2-1 on Sunday to end their eight-match Bundesliga winning streak, are at Arminia Bielefeld.
In the only all-Bundesliga tie of the round, Fortuna Duesseldorf host Borussia Moenchengladbach, while local police have said they expect trouble when Hanover 96 host second-division Dynamo Dresden.
The third round will be held on December 18 and 19 with the final at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on June 1 2013.
Source: AFP
