Third-tier Saarbrucken continued their fairy-tale run in the German Cup, defeating top-flight Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0, while goals from Serhou Guirassy and Silas helped Stuttgart knock out Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
Eintracht controlled possession from the kickoff but Saarbrucken, who had knocked out Bayern Munich in the previous round, staged a well-positioned defence and kept the Eagles at bay, reports Xinhua
The visitors posed no threat and were lucky that Saarbrucken’s opener in the 20th minute, through Kai Brunker, was disallowed due to a foul.
Eintracht had to wait until the 37th minute to create their first half-chance, as Niels Nkounkou pulled wide from a central position near the edge of the box.
After the restart, Eintracht pressed the hosts onto the back foot but still had problems finding gaps in Saarbrucken’s defence.
Eintracht came close at the hour mark when substitute Aurelio Buta rattled the crossbar from close range.
Four minutes later, Brunker broke the deadlock with Saarbrucken’s first chance of the second half after good build-up work from Amine Naifi.
The Eagles pressed frenetically but couldn’t break through, and the underdogs sealed the win in the 78th minute when Eintracht failed to clear the ball and allowed Luca Kerber to latch onto Brunker’s square pass and slot home.
Things then went from bad to worse for Eintracht, as Noel Futkeu received his marching orders for violent conduct with seven minutes remaining.
“We are of course extremely disappointed. We knew what was coming, a team that kicked out the record champions,” rued Eintracht coach Dino Toppmoller.
Elsewhere, Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen eased into the quarterfinals and extended their unbeaten run to 21 games after beating Paderborn 3-1, while Hertha Berlin edged Hamburg 5-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
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