Kobel makes a vital save as Dortmund beats Frankfurt on penalties in German Cup

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Gregor Kobel sent Borussia Dortmund into the third round of the German Cup with a diving save to win a penalty shootout against Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday.

Midfielder Farès Chaïbi stepped up to take Frankfurt's fourth penalty needing to score after Ritsu Doan had fired his shot over the bar earlier.

Chaïbi shot low to Kobel's right and the Swiss goalkeeper got down to hold the ball, giving Dortmund a 4-2 shootout win that sparked flare-waving celebrations from Dortmund's away fans. The loss continues a troubled run for Frankfurt, with one win from its last six games in all competitions.

Extra time finished with the score at 1-1 after Julian Brandt's goal for Dortmund canceled out ex-Dortmund player Ansgar Knauff's opener for Frankfurt.

Leipzig's 4-1 win over third-tier Energie Cottbus was overshadowed when it was announced part-way through the game that a Leipzig fan had died following a medical incident.

Both clubs said the supporter had been taken ill on the way into the stadium. The game continued in a hushed atmosphere after the incident was announced.

St. Pauli and Hoffenheim took nine penalties each in their shootout before a save by Ben Voll gave St. Pauli an 8-7 win. Their game had ended 2-2 after extra time.

Hauke Wahl, who had scored in the first minute for St. Pauli, converted his team's ninth penalty before Hoffenheim defender Albian Hajdari hit a shot that lacked power and was saved by Voll, who's normally his team's backup keeper.

Second-tier Holstein Kiel upset Bundesliga team Wolfsburg 1-0 thanks to Alexander Bernhardsson's penalty. Wolfsburg played most of the game with 10 men after Jenson Seelt was sent off in the 36th minute for picking up two bookings in quick succession.

Another top-tier club was eliminated as Augsburg lost 1-0 at home to Bochum, which is second from last in the second division.

Borussia Moenchengladbach bested second-tier Karlsruhe 3-1, and Robert Glatzel's 83rd-minute penalty lifted Hamburger SV to a 1-0 win over 10-man Heidenheim. Hertha Berlin beat Elversberg 3-0 in a game between two second-division teams.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Augsburg's Samuel Essende, right, and Bochum's Cajetan Lenz, left, challenge for the ball during a German soccer cup second round match between FC Augsburg and VfL Bochum in Augsburg, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)

Center from left, Hamburg's Robert Glatzel, Luka Vuskovic and Jordan Torunarigha celebrate after a German soccer cup second round match between FC Heidenheim and Hamburger SV in Heidenheim, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Augsburg's Mert Komur, left, and Bochum's Mats Pannewig, right, challenge for the ball during a German soccer cup second round match between FC Augsburg and VfL Bochum in Augsburg, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)

Dortmund's players celebrate after winning a German soccer cup second round match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

Frankfurt's Ansgar Knauff, right, and Dortmund's Marcel Sabitzer, left, challenge for the ballduring a German soccer cup second round match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

From left, Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck, Karim Adeyemi, Julian Ryerson and scorer Julian Brandt celebrate their side's first goal during a German soccer cup second round match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

AL HENAKIYAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Ricky Brabec deliberately gave up his motorbike lead over Luciano Benavides in the Dakar Rally while Nasser Al-Attiyah was happy to cruise through another day closer to his sixth car title on Thursday.

Al-Attiyah started 346-kilometer stage 11 between Bisha north to Al Henakiyah with a 12-minute overall lead and let it drop to less than nine minutes over new second-placed driver Nani Roma in a Ford.

Al-Attiyah was content to let Dacia teammate Sébastien Loeb catch up and pass him to have a teammate nearby for any help and to minimize errors on the mazy, dirt track. Al-Attiyah was 17th, nearly 13 minutes behind stage winner Mattias Ekström, and said he needed to execute the same plan on Friday's last effective racing stage before the end on Saturday.

“If we lose two, three, four minutes no problem,” Al-Attiyah said. “We just need to finish this Dakar in first place.”

Honda cooked up a strategy in the Saudi desert for Adrien van Beveren to open the way and let Brabec catch up after the 190-kilometer pit stop and pick up time bonuses.

Brabec boosted his overall lead from 56 seconds to nearly four minutes just 25 kilometers from the finish. He was also within a minute of the stage lead but he slowed down so KTM rival Benavides was the new overall leader, but only by 23 seconds.

Brabec got his his wish to start Friday's stage 12 six minutes behind Benavides, so he can eye him. They head west to the rally starting point of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast on 311 kilometers of gravel, some river beds with a finish in the dunes.

“A little bit of strategy today and hopefully it pays off tomorrow,” Brabec said. "I feel like its going to be a good day. We’re going back into the rocks so it will be a little bit better for us.”

Brabec is counting on his experience of winning the Dakar in 2020 and 2024 to trump Benavides, who has a best placing of fourth last year.

“I've been in this situation before,” Brabec said. “For the whole two weeks I've been just trying to stay relax, stay comfortable and just be confident, so two days more. I'm gonna do the same thing tomorrow that I've been doing every day; ride dirt bikes and have fun.”

Van Beveren helped Brabec with navigation while fighting with another teammate, Skyler Howes, the entire day for the stage win.

Howes prevailed by 21 seconds for his first career major stage in his eighth Dakar. He was third in 2023 and sixth last year. He's running fifth, 34 minutes off the pace.

Benavides was fourth in the stage and believed the race will be decided on the final 105-kilometer sprint on Saturday.

“I played no strategy like Ricky. I don't care,” Benavides said. “I'm doing what I can to control what I can control.”

Ekström won his third car stage of this Dakar, a special so fast that 12 other drivers were within 10 minutes.

Ford achieved another 1-2-3 stage. Romain Dumas, a three-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, was a career-best second just over a minute back and Carlos Sainz was third.

Only Toyota's Henk Lategan beat Ekström to a checkpoint but Lategan's podium hopes were wrecked after 140 kilometers when a bearing broke on his rear left wheel. Lategan took four hours to get home. He was second last year and second overall overnight but plunged to 23rd.

Loeb moved up to third overall, 10 minutes behind Roma and three minutes ahead of Ekström.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Rider Daniel Sanders competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Fabian Lurquin compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Rider Skyler Howes competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Henk Lategan, left, and co-driver Brett Cummings repair their car during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Nani Roma and co-driver Alex Haro compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)