Holders Bayern Munich cruise into German Cup last 16

Munich: Holders Bayern Munich made light work of Hannover 96 with a 4-1 victory on Wednesday that put them into the last 16 of the German Cup.

Thomas Mueller grabbed a brace while Claudio Pizarro and Franck Ribery also found the net in a comprehensive victory for last season`s treble winners. Didier Ya Konan struck for Hannover, who also lost 2-0 to Bayern in the league earlier in the season. In the night`s other clash of top flight teams Freiburg knocked out Stuttgart with a 2-1 victory. Schalke 04 had a comfortable night at third division Darmstadt, winning 3-1, but Hertha Berlin crashed 3-1 at second division Kaiserslautern. On Tuesday Borussia Dortmund required extra time to advance as they won 2-0 away to 10-man 1860 Munich. The Bundesliga leaders dominated their second-tier opponents were made to wait until the 105th minute before they broke the deadlock through a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty after Dominik Stahl was sent off. Henrikh Mkhitaryan then sealed Dortmund`s passage into the next round two minutes later with his fourth goal of the season. AFP