Bayern Eases Past Hannover 4-1 in German Cup

Title holder Bayern Munich got two goals from Thomas Mueller to cruise past Hannover 4-1 in the second round of the German Cup on Wednesday.

But last season's runner-up, Stuttgart, crashed out in Freiburg. Matthias Ginter and Mike Hanke scored in the second half for Freiburg, while Vedad Ibisevic cut the deficit late in the match.

Bayern beat Hannover in the Bundesliga 2-0 less than two weeks ago and dominated the cup match as well. Mueller opened the scoring in the 17th, Claudio Pizarro doubled the lead in the 27th, before Didier Ya Konan pulled one back for Hannover. But second-half goals from Mueller and substitute Franck Ribery secured Bayern's victory.

Bayern had no trouble overcoming Hannover despite coach Pep Guardiola resting several players, including striker Mario Mandzukic.

"When we use our chances, it's going to be difficult to resist us," Pizarro said.

Hannover was knocked out by Bayern in the semifinals last season. Bayern completed an unprecedented treble for a German club by also capturing the Champions League and the Bundesliga.

Schalke advanced by winning 3-1 at third-division Darmstadt, Hertha Berlin went out against second-division Kaiserslautern 3-1 and Eintracht Frankfurt beat second-tier Bochum 2-0 on goals from Takashi Inui and Stefan Aigner.

Over two days, 10 Bundesliga, five second-tier and one third-division tier club, Saarbruecken, advanced to the third round. Saarbrucken, which had knocked out Werder Bremen in the first round, this time eliminated second-tier Paderborn 2-1.