Borussia Dortmund needed extra-time to edge past second-tier 1860 Munich 2-0 and book their spot in the last 16 of the German Cup after dominating Tuesday’s tie, but hitting the woodwork four times.
Dortmund substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang converted a penalty after 1860’s Dominik Stahl was sent off for a foul on Marco Reus in the 105th minute and Henrikh Mkhitharyan added another after a textbook break two minutes later.
“We must and can win difficult games like this,” Dortmund manager Juergen Klopp said. “We had the best chances, but did not use them and then hit the woodwork four times. That does not happen every day.”
Dortmund were held in the first half by a well-oiled 1860 defense before Jakub Blaszczykowski rattled the crossbar after the restart.
Dortmund, eager to rebound from their opening Champions League defeat to SSC Napoli and a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg last week, upped the pressure and had more than 70 percent possession in the second half, but could not work their way into the box.
Last year’s Cup winners were repeatedly denied by 1860’s veteran goalkeeper, Gabor Kiraly, who at 37 showed his reflexes have not dimmed when he flicked a Marco Reus shot onto the post with his foot early in extra-time.
Germany international Reus then rattled the bar in the 97th minute, curling a free-kick over the wall before earning a penalty following a push by Stahl.
Gabon international Aubameyang sent Kiraly the wrong way to break the deadlock after his team had 32 shots on target, compared with two for their opponents.
With 1860 down to 10 men and suffering tired legs having made no substitutions, Dortmund struck again two minutes later.
’Keeper Mitchell Langerak fed Jonas Hofmann, who sprinted down the right, cut into the box and fed the Armenian forward to round Kiraly, beat a defender and slot in. Aubameyang still had time to whip a free-kick against the bar with three minutes left to play.
Augsburg enjoyed a much easier evening, cruising past third-tier Preussen Muenster 3-0, while fellow Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg also booked their last-16 spot with a 2-0 win over second-division Aalen.
Hamburg SV briefly forgot their Bundesliga troubles to beat second-tier Greuther Fuerth 1-0 and earn some respite before Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk takes over from sacked Thorsten Fink.
Bayer Leverkusen, third in the league, continued their positive start to the season with a 2-0 win over second-division club Arminia Bielefeld.
Bundesliga club FSV Mainz 05 suffered a different fate, falling 1-0 at home to second-tier Cologne.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite