Frankfurt come back to beat Darmstadt 4-2 in German Cup

FRANKFURT: Randal Kolo Muani scored twice as Eintracht Frankfurt came back from a goal down to beat local rivals Darmstadt 4-2 and seal a place in the German Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Frankfurt took an early lead when Kolo Muani leaped to head in a cross and missed two clear-cut chances soon after but was stunned when Mathias Honsak scored twice in the space of three minutes on counterattacks to put second-division leader Darmstadt ahead.

Rafael Borre was left unmarked in the penalty area just before halftime and capitalized to score and send Frankfurt into the break on level terms.

A powerful shot from Daichi Kamada put Frankfurt back in front in the 62nd minute but Darmstadt were not done yet and nearly leveled again when Phillip Tietz hit the post. Kolo Muani made sure of the win for Frankfurt late on, surging down the left flank before placing a shot just inside the far post.

Last season’s cup runner-up Freiburg left it late for the third cup game in a row to win 2-0 at second-division Sandhausen. Freiburg took the lead with an 87th-minute header from Philipp Lienhart and Nils Petersen added a second deep into added time after a goalkeeping error.

Freiburg’s first two German Cup games this season both went to extra time and none of its six goals in the competition have been scored earlier than the 82nd minute.