Immobile Sends Dortmund Through, Leverkusen Need Extra Time

A brace from Ciro Immobile saw Dortmund through, while Leverkusen need extra time to beat Kaiserslautern. Freiburg beat Cologne 2-1 but had to survive a nervy finish, while Hoffenheim overcame Aalen without impressing.



In a simmering cup atmosphere in Dresden, Dortmund - sporting their all white kits - settled into an eagerly awaited battle with their third-division hosts.



The opening half-hour was short on chances as Dortmund dominated possession but couldn't find a way through. Marco Reus had to be taken off injured midway through after coming off worse following a strong challenge. Italian striker Ciro Immobile took an elbow to the face but Dresden captain Michael Hefele didn't even see a booking.



After a fairly unremarkable first half, Dresden were the side who had the first half in the second 45. A deep cross nearly let Justin Eilers in before Mitch Langerak was big and saved well. The game then changed completely when Hefele, under no pressure, badly under hit his pass and Immobile took advantage to give Dortmund the lead.



Langerak was then on hand to save from Eilers as the game opened up. Over the 30,000 fans watched on in Dresden, as the game remained in the balance. Immobile broke through but passed when he should have shot and then substitute Adrian Ramos missed an excellent chance to end the contest - his shot hit the inside of the post after the striker struggled to control the ball.



First-half fires Freiburg through



With no-one wanting to take on the favorites' tag in the only all-Bundesliga tie in the Round of 16, the hosts took the lead with a quick-fire double on the 20-minute mark. First, Anthony Ujah - who has been in good form in front of goal recently - headed in at the wrong end from a corner and then Vladimir Darida rounded Timo Horn to double the score after a fantastic first-time pass from Maximilian Philipp.



With a two-goal lead, Freiburg sat back and waited for a mistake from the visitors. It didn't come before the break, leaving Christian Streich's side primed to progress after a strong pressing performance in the first 45 minutes. Kevin Vogt fired over for Cologne before the hosts were denied what looked a clear penalty after a foul on Dani Schahin. Freiburg remained the better side and Cologne were starting to run out of time. Horn handed his side a lifeline when he saved Darida's penalty, but Vogt then fired over from inside the six-yard box. Peter Stöger's men threw everything at Freiburg late on, but it just wasn't to be their night.



Leverkusen and Hoffenheim labor to win



Having lost to the same opposition in the same stadium in last year's cup competition, Leverkusen were out for revenge. Omar Toprak picked up an early yellow as the game took on a start-stop nature. Simon Rolfes headed wide and then Karim Bellarabi had the ball in the net - only to be wrongly ruled out for offside. Alexander Ring's header nearly put the visitors ahead against the run of play, but Bernd Leno made a great reflex save to keep the scores level.



The visitors grew braver in the second half, but it was still goalless at the hour mark as chances grew few and far between. Extra time rolled around again (as it did last year) and it took a superb, curling free kick from Hakan Calhanoglu one minute before the interval to break the deadlock. A mix-up in the Kaiserlautern defense allowed Stefan Kiessling to make it 2-0 - and take his tally to six in this year's competition.



Despite being the second best team in the opening quarter of an hour, Hoffenheim were leading at the end of it. Kevin Volland's low cross was deflected into the path of an on-rushing Eugen Polanski and the Pole lashed home. Aalen were far from out of the game though - Andreas Hofmann curled onto the bar for the hosts as the second-division side dared to draw level. That intent continued in the second half as Markus Gisdol's side failed to impress. The hosts couldn't convert their chances and Hoffenheim did what the hosts couldn't and scored. Sven Schipplock passed off to Kevin Volland who curled home a shot at the near post. Undeterred, the hosts continued to push forward but couldn't find a way through. Modeste nearly made it three off the bench, but Hoffenheim progressed despite playing well short of their best.