Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched second-tier Ulm 4-0 in the German Cup on Friday but three other Bundesliga teams all needed extra time or penalties to overcome lower-tier opposition on a night of near upsets.
Thomas Muller scored twice in the first 15 minutes for Bayern before Kingsley Coman and substitute Harry Kane added two more late on to give new coach Vincent Kompany a win in his first competitive game in charge.
But Hoffenheim, St Pauli and Mainz all had to work a lot harder before booking their place in the next round.
Hoffenheim struggled most at third-tier Wurzburger Kickers.
Hoffenheim went behind after 11 minutes but an own goal eight minutes later took the game to extra time. Wurzburg led again after scoring in the 100th minute, but Marius Bülter equalized for Hoffenheim in the 107th to take the game to penalty kicks.
Wurzburg captain Dominik Meisel was the only player to miss from the spot as Hoffenheim won the shootout 5-3.
Fourth-tier Hallescher was seconds away from embarrassing last season's second-division champion St Pauli.
Hallescher led 2-1 until Adam Dzwigala equalized in the 94th. Substitute Lars Ritzka scored the winner for the Hamburg club in the 110th minute to give it a 3-2 victory.
Mainz recovered from going 1-0 down against third-tier Wehen Wiesbaden and needed extra-time goals from captain Jonathan Burkardt and midfielder Nadiem Amiri to clinch a 3-1 win.
