Bayern get German Cup defense off to good start


(MENAFN- Arab Times) BERLIN Aug 17 (Agencies): Bayern Munich opened its German Cup defense with a 4-1 win at third-division side Preussen Muenster on Sunday. Robert Lewandowski crossed for former Borussia Dortmund teammate Mario Goetze to score with a header in the 19th minute and Thomas Mueller claimed his 100th goal in a competitive game for Bayern 10 minutes later. David Alaba's powerful shot in off the crossbar made it 3-0 in the 52nd before Mueller set up substitute Claudio Pizarro to score in the 73rd. Rogier Krohne scored an 89th-minute consolation from the penalty spot for Muenster. There was still time for goalkeeper Daniel Masuch to save Lewandowski's weak penalty attempt in injury time. Midfielder Marc Heitmeier was sent off for bringing down the Polish striker. Bayern defender Holger Badstuber played his first competitive game since Dec 1 2012.   Borussia Dortmund defeated third-division Stuttgarter Kickers 4-1 in the first round of the German Cup on Saturday while Bundesliga side Stuttgart lost 2-0 at second-tier Bochum. Dortmund defender Lukasz Piszczek crossed for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to score on the half hour though the home side created the better chances before the break. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang capitalized on a defensive mistake to make it 2-0 in the 55th five minutes before Kickers striker Randy Edwini-Bonsu pulled one back. Aubameyang all but sealed the result with his second in the 78th and Adrian Ramos completed the scoring in the 89th. Marco Reus started for Dortmund after recovering from the left ankle injury that forced him out of Germany's World Cup-winning campaign.   With the exception of Stuttgart's loss to Bochum the second division's early leader results went as expected. Borussia Moenchengladbach and Hannover had 3-1 victories over fourth-tier sides Homburg and Astoria Walldorf respectively and Hertha Berlin beat fourth-tier Viktoria Cologne 4-2. Former Real Madrid striker Joselu scored twice on his competitive debut for Hannover which had defender Marcelo sent off in the first half. Cologne back in the Bundesliga this season enjoyed a 4-0 win over fourth-division FT Braunschweig. Eintracht Frankfurt labored to a 2-0 win at fourth-tier side Viktoria Berlin while second-division city rival FSV Frankfurt defeated fourth-tier Siegen 5-4 on penalties after extra-time finished 3-3. Siegen striker Zouhair Bouadoud scored in the 118th minute to take the game to penalties where FSV goalkeeper Patric Klandt saved the decisive spot kick. Second-division sides St Pauli and Eintracht Braunschweig both won against fifth-tier opposition. St Pauli beat Optik Rathenow 3-1 while Braunschweig won at Bremer SV 1-0.   Another second-division side Greuther Fuerth won 3-0 at sixth-tier SV Waldkirch the lowest ranked side in action on Saturday. Second-division Kaiserslautern needed penalties to get past third-tier SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Kaiserslautern won 5-3 after a scoreless 120 minutes. Bayern Munich are lining up a deal to bring in Roma's Moroccan international defender Mehdi Benatia as a replacement for injured Spanish international Javi Martinez German media reported on Sunday. German websites Sport1 and Sport Bild Plus both indicated that Bayern were looking to tie up a 30 million euro (24 million $40 million) move for Benatia also a reported target for English Premier League duo Manchester United and Chelsea in the coming days.   Bayern coach Pep Guardiola admitted on Saturday the German champions were planning to dip into the transfer market to fill the void left by Martinez who was ruled out until 2015 after rupturing knee ligaments in the German Super Cup defeat to Borussia Dortmund in midweek. According to Sport1 Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport reported in June that the German champions had made a bid of 33 million euros for Benatia. The 27-year-old centre-back is currently under contract with Roma until 2018 having joined from Udinese last July. Bayern who begin the defence of their German Cup title on Sunday away to third-tier Preussen Mnster are also looking for cover at right-back with Rafinha facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after damaging ankle ligaments.


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