Freiburg complete comeback as Stuttgart advance and Schalke are eliminated

The second round of the DFB-Pokal delivered late drama on Wednesday, with SC Freiburg completing a remarkable comeback against Wolfsburg, Deniz Undav sending Stuttgart through with a stoppage-time winner, and Dynamo Dresden eliminating Schalke with a convincing 2–0 victory.

Freiburg came from behind to beat Wolfsburg 3–2 in an entertaining encounter. Igor Matanovic opened the scoring in the sixth minute, but Kento Shiogai equalised almost immediately before striking again shortly before half-time to put Wolfsburg ahead. Substitute Keisuke Goto changed the game after coming off the bench, heading home the equaliser in the 76th minute before completing the comeback in the second minute of stoppage time to send Freiburg into the last 16.

Stuttgart also left it late to secure qualification, edging past Paderborn 1–0 away from home. The hosts were reduced to ten men when Laurin Curda received a straight red card in the 37th minute, but they defended resolutely and frustrated Stuttgart for much of the match. Undav finally broke the deadlock in the 90th minute, finishing a Chris Führich delivery to spare his side extra time and book their place in the next round.

Schalke suffered one of the evening’s biggest disappointments, losing 2–0 away to second-tier Dynamo Dresden. After a goalless first half, Patrice Covic gave the hosts the lead in the 54th minute. Schalke struggled to find an equaliser, and Christoph Daferner sealed Dresden’s victory late on, heading home in the 88th minute. Meanwhile, Hertha Berlin avoided an upset against fourth-tier Jeddeloh II, winning 2–0 through goals from Josip Brekalo and Julian Eitschberger.