Injury-hit Bayern Munich crushed
third-tier Preussen Muenster 4-1 away
on Sunday to bounce back from their
midweek Super Cup defeat and launch
a successful defence of their German
Cup title.
Despite missing half a dozen key players through
injury, including Franck Ribery and Bastian
Schweinsteiger, Bayern were eager to make amends
for Wednesday's 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
First half goals from Mario Goetze and Thomas
Mueller – his 100th for Bayern – put them in the
driving seat before David Alaba's thundering drive
from 18 metres gave them a three-goal cushion
early in the second half.
Substitute Claudio Pizarro, the Bundesliga's most
prolific foreign scorer of all time, then chipped the
ball over goalkeeper Daniel Masuch in the 73rd
minute to punch their ticket for round two.
There was some more good news for Bayern as
defender Holger Badstuber celebrated his comeback
after two consecutive cruciate ligament tears, playing
his first game since December 1, 2012.
His return came only four days after holding
midfielder Javi Martinez tore a cruciate ligament and
was ruled out for the rest of the year.
Muenster, whose squad is worth just over five
million euros compared to their opponents' 500
million, got a late consolation goal when Dutchman
Rogier Krohne converted a penalty in stoppage time.
The hosts then conceded a penalty themselves but
new Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski could not
get on the scoresheet after his spot kick was saved
on the final whistle.
Fellow Bundesliga club Werder Bremen, who had
crashed out against lower-ranked opponnents in the
past three editions of the competition, needed extra
time to edge past regional club Illertissen 3-2.
Hoffenheim were much more convincing, beating
USC Paloma 9-0 with five goals from Sven Schipplock
while Freiburg advanced with a 2-0 win over
Eintracht Trier 2-0.
Borussia Dortmund have already booked their
second round spot after easing 4-1 past Stuttgarter
Kickers on Saturday.
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