Sawt Falasteen - Schick at the double for holders Leverkusen, Leipzig win in German Cup

Leverkusen burst out of the blocks, Schick scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes. Aleix Garcia added a third with a stunning free-kick on the 36-minute mark.

Despite making three half-time changes, Elversberg were unable to break through against Xabi Alonso's men.

Elversberg beat Leverkusen in the first round of the 2022-23 German Cup season, making them the last team to beat the current holders in the competition.

RB Leipzig, who won back-to-back German Cups before Leverkusen's triumph, beat St Pauli 4-2 at home, with Yussuf Poulsen scoring a brace.

The hosts were 2-0 up after 17 minutes thanks to goals from Poulsen and Christoph Baumgartner. Morgan Guilavogui grabbed one back on 28 minutes but Poulsen added another two minutes later.

St Pauli's Swedish defender Eric Smith scored early in the second half but Norwegian forward Antonio Nusa put the match to bed with a classy solo goal with 10 minutes remaining.

Elsewhere, goals for Alexis Claude-Maurice, Arne Maier and Samuel Essende took Augsburg past five-time champions Schalke with a 3-0 win, while Karlsruhe beat Kickers Offenbach 2-0.

Later on Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund will hope to overcome their recent run of poor form at Wolfsburg, while Stuttgart host last season's finalists Kaiserslautern.

B.Mahmoud--SF-PST