15:30 Pokal Kickoffs: Leipzig, Freiburg, Heidenheim, and Union Berlin all advance; Kaiserslautern and Schalke secure second-round berths
Rot Weiss Essen 1 - RB Leipzig 4
The 3.Liga side from North Rhine-Westphalia made the dream start inside the first minute. Leipzig seemed disorganised from the get-go as Torben Müsel's inch perfect pass split the defense as Ramien Safi kept his cool to find the bottom corner.
It proved to be a short-lived lead however, as Amadou Haidara crossed from the right to the back post. With acres of space at his mercy, Benjamin Šeško headed to the net at the back post. The comeback was complete five minutes before the break. On this occasion, Šeško ran in behind, squared unselfishly for Openda and the Belgian reeled away in celebration.
Opportunities continued to fall the way of Marco Rose's side in the second-half. Some slightly wayward finishing from Openda kept Rot Weiss Essen alive as Jakob Golz gathered the Belgian's speculative chip. Fortunately for Die Roten Bullen, they held an ace up their sleeve in the form of Xavi Simons. The Dutch star teed up new signing Nusa in the 84th-minute before scoring himself after a wonderful slalom around Kraulitch to leave Golz with no chance.
VfL Osnabrück 0 - SC Freiburg 4
The travelling Breisgauers eventually broke through the brave Osnabrück rearguard in the 30th-minute via a swift counterattack. Bruno Ogbus, at just 18 years of age, crossed like a seasoned professional in the direction of Lucas Höler whose cultured instep finish rounded off a slick move. Freiburg's lead doubled in the subsequent attack, as Grifo glided past defenders to fire into the lower right corner.
The cup tie was put to bed with just under a quarter of the game remaining. Osnabrück's afternoon was summed up when goalkeeper, David Richter, watched his initial save rebound of Freiburg's Junior Adamu and into the net. The Austrian striker made it a brace before the final whistle sounded, latching onto Höfler's goal-bound header. Life without Christian Streich gets off to a good start for Freiburg.
Villingen 0 - Heidenheim 4
The Regionalliga Südwest side put up a brave fight in the opening half, and were perhaps unlucky to find themselves going into the dressing rooms in arrears. Heidenheim broke the deadlock a minute before the arbiter's whistle sounded. Scienza found Wanner, but the youngster was denied by Hoxha. Beck's rebound was repelled before Maximilian Breunig hammered home at the third time of asking.
Heidenheim wasted no time in establishing an unassailable lead after the break. Breunig added a second after some great work from Leo Scienza down the left. Paul Wanner fired home a third with a convincing strike, and the 24-year-old Breunig made it a hattrick when Marvin Pieringer squared to make it a routine finish. Just the start Frank Schmidt would have hoped for.
Griefswalder FC 0 - Union Berlin 1
It was a nail-biting opening half in Griefswald as the Regionalliga Nordost outfit started brightly by creating two promising chances. Die Eisernen eventually grew into the occasion and controlled play, but struggled to break down Griefswald's compact defence as it remained scoreless at the interval.
The breakthrough finally arrived for Union in the final quarter of the match. A beautifully worked one-two between Yorbe Vertessen and Benedict Hollerbach allowed the former to pick out the top left corner. It was a fluid move with neat one touch passing between the German and Dutch strikers, which proved to be enough for Bo Svensson and the club from the German capital.
FC Ingolstadt 1 - FC Kaiserslautern 2
The visitors surged into a lead inside 3 minutes as Aaron Opoku attacked the left flank. His cut back arrived at the feet of Jannik Mause before the striker placed it beyond Simoni. Lautern doubled their lead midway through the half as Mause bagged a brace. Marlon Ritter's freekick cannoned off the wall, but Mause reacted first and thumped the ball into the half-empty net.
Jan Gyamerah received his marching orders for a second yellow card offence after the interval. Die Roten Teufel endured a few nervy moments with the numerical disadvantage. The game got scrappy and Ingolstadt reduced the arrears via the head of Ryan Malone. Yellow cards aplenty, but ultimately the Rhineland-Palatinate club did enough damage in the first-half to advance.
VfR Aalen 0 - Schalke 2
Approaching the half-hour, Schalke's early dominance told when Tobias Mohr delivered the perfect set-piece from the left sideline. Rising highest in the box, Kenan Karaman directed his header past Andreas Wick in the Aalen goal.
Schalke doubles their advantage in the 68th-minute after a misplaced back pass was overcooked. Tobias Mohr remained alive to the opportunity, raced in behind, and kept his composure in the one-on-one scenario. Die Knappen advance to the second round with ease.