New skipper Lahm leads Bayern into the last four

BERLIN: Holders Bayern Munich eased into the German Cup semi-finals with a 4-0 win at Second Division Alemannia Aachen on Wednesday but fellow Bundesliga clubs Kaiserslautern and Hoffen-heim went out to lower-tier clubs.

Led by new captain Philipp Lahm after Dutchman Mark van Bommel joined AC Milan on Tuesday, Bayern took the lead after 25 minutes with Mario Gomez tapping in a Luiz Gustavo low cross.

Aachen had a brief good spell in the second half but Thomas Mueller sealed Bayern’s ticket when he fired in through the legs of keeper David Hohs in the 75th minute.

The Germany international added another with a low drive from 14m four minutes later and Arjen Robben, who came on as a substitute, completed the rout in the 88th minute.

The win is expected to take some pressure off Bayern coach Louis van Gaal, at odds with club bosses over some of his decisions, including the release of captain van Bommel after four and a half years.

A goal from Chinese Shao Jiayi six minutes from time sent Division Two side Energie Cottbus through with a 1-0 win over Hoffenheim with their new signing Ryan Babel from Liverpool in the starting lineup.

Duisburg threw out another Bundesliga team when they beat Kaiserslautern 2-0.

On Tuesday, Schalke 04 needed a last minute goal in extra time from 17-year-old Julian Draxler to advance 3-2 past Nuremberg.

  

Bayern beats Aachen to reach cup semi-finals

BERLIN (AP): Thomas Mueller scored twice Wednesday to help send Bayern Munich into the semifinals of the German Cup with a 4-0 away win over second-division side Aachen.

Second-tier clubs Cottbus and Duisberg also progressed, with home wins over Bundesliga sides Hoffenheim and Kaiserslautern respectively.

Mario Gomez opened the scoring for Bayern in the 26th minute, when he was left unmarked to head in a perfect cross from Gustavo Luiz from the left.

Aachen were denied a penalty in the 34th when Luiz appeared to trip Benjamin Auer in the area. Television replays showed contact had been made.

Goalkeeper David Hohs stood up well to deny Gomez from adding his second a minute later, after the striker was played through by Mueller.

He had the ball in the net before the interval but the effort was ruled out for a foul on defender Tobias Feisthammel.

Hohs saved again from Gomez early in the second half after the Bundesliga's joint top scorer played a neat one-two with Mueller to leave three Aachen defenders watching.

Aachen pressed forward for an equaliser and Thomas Kraft denied the home side with two outstanding saves in quick succession with half an hour remaining.

Mueller made the game safe by rounding off a classic counterattacking move in the 75th.

Arjen Robben - brought on as a substitute three minutes before - found Mueller in space with a crossfield pass, and the 21-year-old eluded the challenge of Aimen Demai before slotting the ball between the legs of Hohs.

The German international added his second five minutes later, when his shot took a deflection past the helpless goalkeeper. Robben rounded off the rout in the 88th when he was set up by Bastian Schweinsteiger to finish from close range.

"There was a time in the second half when we were under pressure," said Robben, still recovering from a cold. "It was 4-0 but it was more difficult than that."

It was Bayern's first game since captain Mark van Bommel's switch to AC Milan. "The referee could have given a penalty in the first half," said Auer, the Aachen captain. "Who knows what would have happened?"

Substitute Jiayi Shao scored a late winner to earn Cottbus a 1-0 win over Hoffenheim. The China international - brought on in the 66th minute - blasted the ball past goalkeeper Tom Starke in the 84th, after Jules Reimerink beat three defenders and found him in the area with a precision pass.

"We played well and had a little luck," said Shao. Ryan Babel made his Hoffenheim debut after switching from Liverpool on Tuesday.

Duisberg defender Branimir Bajic stretched his leg to score from close range in the 36th, when Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Tobias Sippel failed to clear a Benjamin Kern corner and Stefan Maierhofer headed the ball forward.

Goran Sukalo completed the win in the 58th, when he headed in Kern's long free kick from the left. Schalke progressed on Tuesday.

  

Schalke beats Nuremberg to reach cup semifinals

BERLIN (AP) - Substitute Julian Draxler scored a stunning winner in the last minute of extra time to send Schalke into the semifinals of the German Cup with a 3-2 home win over Nuremberg on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old Draxler - Schalke's youngest ever Bundesliga player - had been on the pitch for only three minutes when he collected the ball from Jefferson Farfan, eluded Andreas Wolf on the edge of the penalty area, and let fly from 22 meters (yards) to send the home fans wild.

Julian Schieber scored twice for Nuremberg - the first after three minutes when he reacted quickly to blast past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from short range.

Schalke equalized 10 minutes later through Mario Gavranovic after he rounded off a fast breakaway instigated by Raul Gonzalez. The Spaniard played a through ball into the path of Christian Pander, who cut it back for Gavranovic to shoot first time past Raphael Schaefer.

Raul had the ball in the net 10 minutes later but the effort was ruled out for a push on Philipp Wollscheid, and the 33-year-old hit the outside of the post a minute after that.

Schieber's second came in the 33rd, when he met a Christian Eigler cross from the left to leave Neuer shaking his head.

Schaefer reacted superbly to prevent Schalke equalizing early in the second half when the ball took a major deflection off Wollscheid. The goalkeeper was grateful to gather the ball at the second attempt after diving to his right.

There was little he could do when Ivan Rakitic scored in the 58th, however. The Croat let fly from the edge of the area after he was set up by a classy back-heel from Raul.

Schalke continued to apply the pressure, but the home side was unable to score a winner in regular time.

Extra time also proved frustrating for the hosts - until coach Felix Magath introduced Draxler to the game in the 116th minute.

"I wanted to bring him on and I'm happy I did that just before the end," Magath said. The goal was Draxler's first for the senior side.

"You dream about such an experience your whole life," he said. "The coach told me we had to do something."