Wolfsburg begin DFB-Pokal defense with dominant win; Bayer cruise

Wolfsburg started their defense of the DFB Pokal with a convincing 4-1 win at Stuttgarter Kickers, inspired by an excellent performance from Manchester City target Kevin De Bruyne.

The Belgian attacking-midfielder laid on the opener on three minutes for Max Kruse to score his first competitive goal for the Wolves, and then scored a splendid third goal after the break. Holding a firm control of the match throughout, Wolfsburg rarely needed to turn up the heat on Stuttgarter Kickers -- and indeed didn’t score a second until the first-half stoppage time.

Vieirinha knocked a cross into the box, the ball clipped on by Kruse on to Bas Dost who slid in to score his first of the new season. De Bruyne added a third with a classy right-foot finish on 47 minutes. Lhadji Badiane scored for the home side, but it proved to be just a footnote as Nicklas Bendtner made it three in two for the season so far and close out the contest.

Of all the Bundesliga clubs, Schalke was handed perhaps the toughest tie of the round away to second-tier cracks MSV Duisburg. But Andre Breitenreiter’s side were too strong, winning 4-0.

Duisburg, one of the 16 founding members of the Bundesliga, was roared on by around 20,000 home fans and welcomed their team with an impressive choreography. However, Breitenreiter, the club’s new coach, the Royal Blues started with a statement of intent.

Julian Draxler carved open the Duisburg defense with a sweet through pass for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. The Cameroonian international drew the ball back for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who opened his account for the season. From then onwards, Schalke played with class and confidence. Duisburg’s woes were compounded on the half hour mark when defender Branimir Bajic was shown his second yellow card, pulling down Franco Di Santo inside the box.

The Argentine striker -- who signed from Werder Bremen this summer -- missed his kick on 31 minutes, although Schalke would have a second within seven minutes. Former Man City defender Matija Nastasic headed in from a corner-kick, adding a safe cushion for the new-look Royal Blues who lined up in a positive 4-2-4 formation.

And on the stroke of half-time, Geis scored a third, the first trademark free-kick of the season for the 21-year-old - and in a Schalke shirt following his 10 million euro move from Mainz this summer.
If this first round encounter is anything to go by, the Royal Blues have been whipped into shape by Breitenreiter whose free-flowing, attacking philosophy earned positive reviews despite suffering relegation with Paderborn last season.

On 62 minutes, Di Santo cleared his arrears, scoring with a first-time shot inside the box to add some shine to an excellent performance from the former Chelsea forward. And with five minutes left, midfielder Leon Goretzka charged from midfield and slammed home number five for the afternoon.

Elsewhere, Hoffenheim suffered the only Bundesliga defeat of the round, losing 2-0 at 1860 Munich at the Allianz Arena. South African winger Daylon Claasen opened the scoring on 51 minutes before Fejsal Mulic secured a surprise win for the struggling 2.Bundesliga side in the closing minutes.

Bayer Leverkusen defeated Sportfreunde Lottle by two goals with Stefan Kiessling and Hakan Calhanoglu scoring either side of the interval.

Kiessling, who played alongside Admir Mehmedi in attack, bundled home the opener inside the first quarter of an hour after fine work by highly-rated left-back Wendell. Roger Schmidt’s men have a UEFA Champions League showdown to look forward to in the next fortnight when Lazio come calling, but they were professional and focused to get the job done against lower-league opposition. It took another 50-or-so minutes to add a second when Calhanoglu stepped up from the penalty spot to tuck the ball home.

1.FC Koln scored four times -- three courtesy of new signing Anthony Modeste -- to beat fourth-tier Meppen 4-0.

Modeste was Anthony Ujah’s direct replacement this transfer window and he started his career with the Billy Goats on a hot streak. The Frenchman volleyed home with his weaker foot inside 45 seconds before adding a second on 27 minutes. With four new signings in the starting lineup, Koln was too strong for its lower-league counterparts and Modeste completed his hat-trick with 11 minutes left, finishing off a good move by Yuya Osako. Simon Zoller came off the bench to round off the win with a fourth late on.

Armin Veh’s Eintracht Frankfurt eased past Bremer SV 3-0 with debutant Luc Castaignos scoring his first goal since arriving from Dutch side FC Twente.

The 22-year-old forward is Frankfurt’s notable transfer of the summer and he shot into the net from 15 yards out on 31 minutes. The side from Bremen were unable to compete for much longer as Stefan Aigner made it 2-0 on 52 minutes amid suspicions of offside. Encouraging for the Eagles and Veh is the emergence of a clutch of youngsters coming through this summer. One of them, young striker Luca Waldschmidt, stepped off the bench to net with 71 minutes played.

Werder Bremen needed 120 minutes to beat Wurzburger Kickers 2-0 of the third-tier with Anthony Ujah and Fin Bartels scoring after 90 minutes. Bremen’s new recruit Aron Johannsson wasn’t included in the matchday squad.

Alexander Zorniger's Stuttgart came from a goal down to beat third-tier Holstein Kiel 2-1, while last season's impressive second division outfit Karlsruhe lost 3-1 at fifth-tier Reutlingen.