Christoph Baumgartner scored twice in the final 12 minutes to rescue a 10-man RB Leipzig in a 2-1 German Cup second round win at third-division Rot-Weiss Essen on Tuesday.
Essen's Lucas Brumme gave the hosts the lead after nine minutes and Leipzig's task got harder just before half-time when Nicolas Seiwald picked up a second yellow card.
Leipzig, who won the competition back-to-back in 2022 and 2023, were on track for an early elimination until Baumgartner scored two goals inside five minutes.
The night before the match, Essen fans had concreted over the away fan entrance, with city authorities in a race against time to clear the entrance before kick-off.
Robin Koch, Jonathan Burkardt and Younes Ebnoutalib scored as Eintracht Frankfurt cruised to a 3-1 win at three-time winners Hamburg.
Elsewhere, Mainz joined Hamburg as first division sides to bite the dust early, losing 2-0 at second-tier Bochum, while Augsburg won 4-2 at third-flight Sonnenhof Grossaspach.
Later on Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund host six-time champions Werder Bremen.
On Wednesday, holders Bayern Munich host Magdeburg in Harry Kane's first match since winning the Ballon d'Or on Monday.