Bayern Munich’s Xabi Alonso (right) celebrates with Rafinha after scoring against SV Darmstadt 98  during the German Cup at Allianz-Arena, Munich on Tuesday. (Reuters)

DPA /Berlin


Xabi Alonso fired Bayern Munich into the quarter-finals of the German Cup in a 1-0 win over Darmstadt, while Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen and third-division Heidenheim also booked their places in the last eight.
Alonso struck when he cushioned the ball and then volleyed in from almost 30 metres to give Bayern the winner five minutes before half-time against fellow Bundesliga side Darmstadt.
Bayern, the 2013 and 2014 cup winners, are in the quarter-finals for the seventh time in a row. Pep Guardiola’s side will also go into the new year top of the Bundesliga and are also in the last 16 of the Champions League. “You have to take your first chance against such a compact team.  Afterwards the game tailed off, and the freshness was lacing a bit,” Bayern sports director Matthias Sammer said.
“We have progressed in both knock-out competitions. Now we have to bundle our energies for the Hanover game (on Saturday in the Bundesliga).”
Visiting Bremen meanwhile defeated Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-3 while Leverkusen came from behind to beat fourth-tier side Unterhaching 3-1. Heidenheim went through with a 2-0 win at second-division Erzgebirge Aue.
Moenchengladbach crashed to a third defeat in a week - with 13 goals conceded - after losses to Manchester City in the Champions League and Leverkusen in the Bundesliga as Bremen, struggling in the league, booked their place in the last eight. Lars Stindl put Moenchengladbach in front from a Thorgan Hazard pass in the 32nd minute, but the visitors levelled seven minutes after the break when Janek Sternberg’s low shot went in off the post.
Six minutes later Gladbach keeper Yann Sommer could only parry Florian Grillitsch’s free-kick onto the post and Jannik Vestegaard followed up to poke the ball over the line.
Raffael put substitute Branimir Hrgota through in the 73rd minute to equalise, but the home side conceded a third goal two minutes later when Claudio Pizarro scored from close range, and Anthony Ujah struck a fourth three minutes later with a shot deflected past Sommer.
Hrgota netted his second for a stoppage-time consolation for the home side after Havard Nordveit’s free-kick was deflected into his path by Levin Oeztunali.
After four games without a win, Bremen have now secured their first German Cup quarter-final place for six years. “Financially it was a very important win for the club,” general manager Thomas Eichin said. “Now I’m hoping for a home game in the next round. We can travel to Frankfurt (for the last league game of the year) with a good feeling.”
In Unterhaching, the regional league side shocked Leverkusen with a goal in the 27th minute when Thomas Steinherr broke on the left. His shot was saved by Bernd Leno but Maximilian Bauer followed up to score.
As a Bundesliga side in the 1999-2000 season, Unterhaching had thwarted Leverkusen’s title bid with a 2-0 win on the last day of the season, allowing Bayern Munich to win the league, but there was to be no cup upset.
Leverkusen were soon back on level terms when Christoph Kramer’s cross four minutes later was headed back by Stefan Kiessling for Javier Hernandez to finish. Kiessling, who has hinted he might want to leave the club after losing his first-team place, put Leverkusen in front 10 minutes after the break with a shot inside the post from a pass by substitute Marlon Frey.
Hernandez set Karim Bellarabi up for the Germany striker to net the third for the Bundesliga side seven minutes from time.
“It was difficult today. Unterhaching played well and showed why they have got so far,” Bellarabi said.
Four matches are scheduled Wednesday, including Augsburg against Borussia Dortmund.