Strikers steal the show
Aubameyang hits hat-trick as Lewandowski nets brace
BERLIN: A hat-trick by PierreEmerick Aubameyang and a brace by Robert Lewandowski saw Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich reach the second round of the German Cup .
Defending champions Dortmund eased to a 4-0 victory over sixthtier minnows Riesalingen-Arlen, while Bayern secured a 5-0 win over Third Division Chemnitz.
A deflected free- kick saw Lewandowski open the scoring for Bayern after just 20 minutes with the Bundesliga champions striking again on the counter-attack shortly after half-time, Kingsley Coman doubling the lead.
Record signing Corentin Tolisso set up Bayern’s third goal, sending in a low cross for Lewandowski to tap in his second of the afternoon.
With victory assured, Franck Ribery whipped a direct free-kick into the bottom corner in the 79th minute and Mats Hummels headed in Bayern’s fifth just before the final whistle.
“The most important thing today was reaching the second round,” Lewandowski told Sky Sport.
“It’s always important to score the first goal and it’s not always easy.
“We didn’t have much space today. Chemnitz played defensively.”
Dortmund were dominant from the offset, as defender Marc Bartra gave Peter Bosz’s team the lead in the 12th minute and Aubameyang made it 2-0 from the penalty spot just before half-time.
Aubameyang netted his second with a chip over goalkeeper Dennis Klose on 55 minutes, and completed his hat-trick 10 minutes from time.
“I’m really happy with the win,” said Aubameyang.
“We did exactly what we set out to do.
“It wasn’t a top performance from us but overall, we can be happy with how we did today.”
Hoffenheim, meanwhile, failed to muster a convincing performance ahead of the first leg of their Champions League playoff against Liverpool tomorrow.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side struggled to a 1-0 victory over third-tier Rot-Weiss Erfurt.
Last season’s finalists Eintracht Frankfurt suffered an early setback against fourth- tier TuS Erndtebrck, as defender David Abraham was sent off on 23 minutes.
But goals from Timothy Chandler, Mijat Gacinovic and Sebastien Haller were enough to secure a laboured victory for 10-man Frankfurt.
Elsewhere, Europa League qualifiers Cologne scored five against fifth-tier Lehe, while Freiburg and Mainz also secured their places in the second round.
There were also comfortable victories against lower league opposition for Second Division sides Kaiserslautern and Heidenheim. — AFP