German Cup: Bayern progress; Berlin, Stuttgart out

Defending champions Bayern Munich eased to a 4-1 win over Hannover while Hertha Berlin and Stuttgart were eliminated to close the second round in the German Cup.

German giants Bayern overpowered a courageous Hannover team thanks to Thomas Mueller's brace Wednesday, reports Xinhua.

The hosts established a 2-0 lead within 27 minutes owing to goals by Mueller and Claudio Piazarro. However, the Bavarians allowed Hannover to pull one back in the 37th minute through Didier Ya Konan.

Bayern again went on the offensive in the second half when Mueller sealed his brace to make it 3-1 in the 64th minute. Franck Ribery completed the rout with 12 minutes remaining.

Freiburg advanced to the round of last 16 following a 2-1 win over Stuttgart in the Southern derby. The hosts took revenge on Stuttgart for the semifinal loss last year. Freiburg's Matthias Ginter and Mike Hanke gave their team a 2-0 lead before Vedad Ibisevic reduced the arrears in the closing stages.

Schalke knocked out third division side Darmstadt 3-1.

Second division side Kaiserslautern punished Hertha Berlin's second string 3-1. Newly promoted first division side Berlin broke the deadlock thanks to a goal by Peter Niemeyer.

Kaiserslautern came from behind as Mahamadu Idrissou, Karim Matmour and Olivier Occean turned the tides for the hosts.

Elsewhere, third division side Osnabruck lost 0-1 to second division club Union Berlin. Third division Saarbrucken stunned second division team Paderborn 2-1 and FSV Frankfurt lost to second division opponents Ingolstadt 0-2.