Bayern eliminate champs Dortmund, Bailey leads Leverkusen over Gladbach

BERLIN, Dec 21 (AP): Bayern Munich held off a spirited comeback to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at home and knock the defending champion out of the German Cup on Wednesday.

Bayern defender Jerome Boateng opened the scoring early with a header from the rebound after Niklas Suele's initial effort came off the crossbar.

Dortmund only managed one shot on goal in the first half compared to the home side's 10 - and David Alaba cleared off the line when Andrey Yarmolenko should have scored for the visitors. Thomas Mueller made it 2-0 for Bayern five minutes before the break with a brilliant chip over the outrushing Roman Buerki. Dortmund improved dramatically in the second half as Bayern sat back and Yarmolenko duly pulled one back with just over 10 minutes remaining when Shinji Kagawa eluded two defenders to cross to the far post.

Leon Bailey scored for Bayer Leverkusen to reach the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach.