Hannover stun Gladbach, Union beat local rivals Hertha | OneFootball

Hannover 96 became the fourth Bundesliga 2 side to reach the quarterfinals of this season’s DFB-Pokal, after Hamburger SV, FC St. Pauli and Karlsruher SC. The Lower Saxony side knocked out Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach with a 3-0 win. Meanwhile, RB Leipzig comfortably beat Hansa Rostock 2-0 to also advance to the next round.

Hannover dump out Gladbach

Hosts Hannover stormed out the gates, netting the opener in the fourth minute of play. Weydandt split the defence and picked out Maximilian Beier with a perfect pass, as the latter thumped the ball into the back of the net. Hannover were then awarded a penalty after Marvin Friedrich handled the ball inside the box, with Sebastian Kerk powering home from the spot (36’). After the change of ends, it was Hannover who would add a third, as Beier went one-on-one with Yann Sommer to net his second goal of the game (51’). The Foals were unable to muster a response, as they bowed out of the competition.

Leipzig hold off Rostock

Last season’s finalists from Leipzig didn’t need long to open the scoring. A long cross from Lukas Klostermann found striker Yussuf Poulsen unmarked at the far post, as he easily headed in to make it 1-0 (6’). They could have added more in the first half, as Willi Orban (28’) and Christopher Nkunku (39’) both came close. After the break, Rostock’s Nico Neidhart had to watch as his shot rolled across the face of goal and out (50’). In the closing stages of the game, it was substitute Dani Olmo who would put the game to bed for the hosts, as he made it 2-0 just seconds after being subbed on (82’).

Union paint Berlin red

Alexander Schwolow was called upon to deny Max Kruse early on, making the save at the near post (1’). Just 10 minutes later, Andreas Voglsammer netted a spectacular volley over the head of Schwolow to put FCU into the lead. Hertha came close through Suat Serdar in the 36th minute, but his shot sailed into the side netting. After the change of ends, Niklas Stark doubled Union’s advantage after redirecting a cross into his own net (50’). Hertha then went down the other end and netted a goal of their own, as Serdar’s shot was redirected in by Khedira (54’). Union didn’t need long to restore their advantage, as Robin Knoche got on the end of a free kick to make it 3-1 (55’). Serdar got another one back for Hertha deep in injury time (90’+4), but the hosts ran out of time to complete their comeback.

Grifo brace powers Freiburg to big win

Vincenzo Grifo curled home the opener for Freiburg in the 10th minute, placing a shot beyond the reach of Oliver Baumann. He would then add a second from the spot, after Ihlas Bebou handled the ball inside the box (36’). After the break, Freiburg’s Nico Schlotterbeck was unlucky to redirect a shot from Andrej Kramaric into his own net (52’). Just minutes later, Kevin Schade restored their two-goal advantage after a strong solo run (55’). Ermedin Demirovic would then add a fourth as SCF hit Hoffenheim on the counter to book their place in the next round (68’).