Holders Bayern make winning start in German Cup

Injury-hit Bayern Munich crushed third-tier Preussen Muenster 4-1 away on Sunday to bounce back from their midweek Super Cup defeat and launch a successful defence of their German Cup title.

Despite missing half a dozen key players through injury, including Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern were eager to make amends for Wednesday's 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

First half goals from Mario Goetze and Thomas Mueller -- his 100th for Bayern -- put them in the driving seat before David Alaba's thundering drive from 18 metres gave them a three-goal cushion early in the second half.

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Substitute Claudio Pizarro, the Bundesliga's most prolific foreign scorer of all time, then chipped the ball over goalkeeper Daniel Masuch in the 73rd minute to punch their ticket for round two.

There was some more good news for Bayern as defender Holger Badstuber celebrated his comeback after two consecutive cruciate ligament tears, playing his first game since Dec. 1, 2012.

His return came only four days after holding midfielder Javi Martinez tore a cruciate ligament and was ruled out for the rest of the year.

Muenster, whose squad is worth just over five million euros (6.70 million US dollar) compared to their opponents' 500 million, got a late consolation goal when Dutchman Rogier Krohne converted a penalty in stoppage time.

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The hosts then conceded a penalty themselves but new Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski could not get on the scoresheet after his spot kick was saved on the final whistle.

Fellow Bundesliga club Werder Bremen, who had crashed out against lower-ranked opponnents in the past three editions of the competition, needed extra time to edge past regional club Illertissen 3-2.

Hoffenheim were much more convincing, beating USC Paloma 9-0 with five goals from Sven Schipplock while Freiburg advanced with a 2-0 win over Eintracht Trier 2-0.

Borussia Dortmund have already booked their second round spot after easing 4-1 past Stuttgarter Kickers on Saturday.