In the first round of the DFB Pokal, SC Freiburg secured a convincing 5-1 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf. Freiburg took the lead in the 18th minute through Lucas Höler, who simply needed to finish after Osterhage launched a solo run. Igor Matanovic doubled the advantage in the 71st minute from a free kick delivered by Scherhant. Lukas Kübler sealed the win with a unique strike in the 74th minute, before Jordy Makengo and Matanovic added further goals for Freiburg in the stoppage time. Düsseldorf managed to narrow the deficit momentarily in the 76th minute thanks to a goal from Fabian Schleusener.
Meanwhile, SC Paderborn overcame 1. FC Phönix Lübeck with a 4-2 win. Jano ter Horst put Paderborn ahead in the 22nd minute following a corner. Santiago Castaneda increased the lead in the 41st minute with a header following another corner kick. Lübeck responded quickly with a beautiful goal from Moritz Kretzer in the 43rd minute. However, Paderborn solidified their victory via Stefano Marino in the 61st minute and Gabriel Vidović in the 71st minute. Miguel Fernandes managed to find the net for Lübeck once more in the 75th minute.
In a surprising result, Rot-Weiss Essen defeated Second Division side FC St. Pauli 2-0. Marek Janssen opened the scoring for Essen in the 36th minute, converting a cross from Obuz with a header. Semir Telalovic doubled the lead in the 53rd minute following a turnover in St. Pauli’s buildup play. Despite several chances, the largely ineffective Hamburg side could not recover from the deficit, and Essen successfully defended their lead until the end.
