News (engl.)

Borussia Dortmund needed a stoppage-time winner to secure a 3-2 victory over Werder Bremen in Tuesday evening’s DFB-Pokal second-round action. Second-tier SV Darmstadt 98 pulled off a surprise 2-0 win away to Bundesliga newcomers SV Elversberg, while 1. FC Köln thrashed Union Berlin 5-0. Borussia Mönchengladbach also progressed to the round of 16, beating Karlsruher SC 2-0 despite playing much of the game with ten men.

The all-Bundesliga clash between Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen kicked off five minutes late, but the hosts wasted little time in taking the lead. Julian Ryerson cushioned a low cross from the left into the path of Serhou Guirassy, who finished from close range to make it 1-0 (6’). Dortmund continued to pile on the pressure and had another goal ruled out for offside (14’). Three minutes later, however, they doubled their advantage. Jobe Bellingham headed the ball into the path of Carney Chukwuemeka, who struck a half-volley underneath the diving goalkeeper to make it 2-0 (17’). Bremen took over half an hour to create their first real chance, with Grüll firing narrowly over following a through ball from Dinkçi (33’). Guirassy then missed a golden opportunity to put the game beyond the visitors, heading wide from close range (38’), as Dortmund took a deserved 2-0 lead into the break.

Bremen improved after the restart. Cedric Itten failed to make the most of a promising headed opportunity (50’), before Germany international Nico Schlotterbeck produced a vital defensive intervention moments later (51’). At the other end, Chukwuemeka squandered a chance to make it 3-0 (56’). The game then took an unexpected turn just after the hour mark. Ryerson was penalised for pulling Dariusz Stalmach back by the shoulder inside the box, and substitute Niclas Füllkrug confidently converted the resulting penalty to halve the deficit (65’). Four minutes later, Füllkrug struck again, brilliantly nutmegging Waldemar Anton to get in behind the Dortmund defence and firing a 20-yard shot beyond Kobel’s reach to make it 2-2 (69’). Bremen now had the upper hand and looked dangerous on the counter-attack, with Mitchell Weiser firing agonisingly wide (75’). Just when extra time seemed inevitable, however, Dortmund snatched a dramatic winner. With Karl Hein expecting a cross, Marcel Sabitzer curled his free-kick directly into the top corner in the third minute of stoppage time to spark wild celebrations among the home fans.

Köln run riot against Union

Both sides adopted a cautious approach in the opening stages at the RheinEnergieStadion, with neither willing to commit too many players forward. Maina provided an occasional threat for Köln and was unlucky not to score when he met an excellent pass from El Mala, curling an effort against the post as he fell. At the other end, Schäfer tried his luck from distance but fired well over the bar. Köln gradually began to look the more dangerous side and took the lead after Krauß disrupted Union’s attempts to play out from the back. He fed Maina, who surged forward before picking out El Mala at just the right moment. The youngster curled a superb finish past Raab from a tight angle to make it 1-0 (32’). Köln grew in confidence and continued to threaten through Maina and El Mala, but were unable to add to their lead before the break.

The same duo combined again early in the second half. Union failed to clear a long kick from Schwäbe, allowing El Mala to square the ball for Maina to finish clinically from close range (52’). Eight minutes later, El Mala took matters into his own hands, cutting in from the right, creating space with a stepover and curling the ball home to make it 3-0 (60’). Köln showed no signs of letting up. Bülter picked out an unmarked Johannesson in front of goal, leaving him with a simple tap-in for the fourth (79’). Heskey then set up Sebulonsen, who fired into the far corner from 18 yards to complete the 5-0 rout (88’).

Ten-man Gladbach book place in round of 16

The Foals made a lively start in front of their home fans. With Karlsruhe pushing high up the pitch, Scally found himself with plenty of space to exploit down the right. He delivered a precise cross into the box, which Hack converted to give Borussia an early lead (7’). Karlsruhe almost responded immediately when Wanitzek laid the ball off to Egloff following a wayward cross, but Batz produced a spectacular save to deny his powerful effort (9’). Gladbach gradually took control of the game, although they struggled to turn their possession into clear chances. Their task became considerably harder shortly before half time. Fukuda latched onto a through ball from Väänänen and turned cleverly past Borussia captain Sander, leaving him with a clear sight of goal. Sander hauled the Japanese forward to the ground, however, and was shown a straight red card following a VAR review (39’).

Karlsruhe pushed Gladbach back into their own half after the restart, but the hosts took full advantage of their first opportunity to counter. Substitute Ullrich played a one-two with Hack before receiving the ball back inside the box and smashing it under the crossbar to double Borussia’s lead. Karlsruhe continued to press but lacked a cutting edge, wasting several promising opportunities. Eichinger headed over from a Wanitzek cross (77’) as the visitors struggled to find a way through. Gladbach held firm despite their numerical disadvantage, seeing out the 2-0 victory to book their place in the round of 16.

Schuhen heroics help Darmstadt stun Elversberg

Second-tier bottom side Darmstadt 98 made a surprisingly strong start against newly promoted Bundesliga outfit SV Elversberg. Lars Kehl, who had replaced the injured Nicolas Verkooijen after just four minutes, curled a superb free-kick into the top-left corner from nearly 30 yards to put the visitors ahead (6’). Elversberg immediately looked to respond, but Cole Campbell was twice denied by goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen (15’, 23’). The Darmstadt goalkeeper was also on hand to keep out a deflected effort from Frederik Schmahl and an acrobatic attempt from Florian Le Joncur. Elversberg had registered 14 shots to Darmstadt’s one by half time, but the visitors managed to preserve their slender lead going into the break.

Elversberg continued to push for an equaliser after the restart. Le Joncur came agonisingly close when his effort from a low cross trickled just wide of the left-hand post (47’). The next goal, however, came at the other end. Milan Smit doubled Darmstadt’s advantage with only his side’s second shot of the game (56’). The hosts refused to give up despite the setback, with Noel Futkeu striking the crossbar just five minutes later (61’). Elversberg continued to create opportunities and finished the game with 26 shots, but simply could not find a way past Schuhen, and Darmstadt held on to complete a memorable cup upset.