Third-division club Saarbruecken defeated Werder Bremen 3-1 after extra time Sunday to send the Bundesliga side out of the German Cup in the first round for the third year in a row.
Borussia Moenchengladbach also crashed out to a third-division team, losing 5-4 to Darmstadt on penalties after Branimir Hrgota missed the decisive spot kick. The match was scoreless following extra time.
''Hrgota naturally took a lot of risk with his shot,'' Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said of the penalty that crashed off the crossbar and landed on the goal line. ''It's often only millimeters.''
In Saarbruecken, Nils Fischer struck just before halftime for the home side before Sebastian Proedl equalized in the 59th minute. Tim Stegerer scored with a deflected shot at the end of the first period of extra time, and Saarbruecken striker Marcel Ziemer sealed the win following a counterattack in the 112th.
It was Bremen's first competitive game in 14 years without Thomas Schaaf as coach, and the loss puts immediate pressure on successor Robin Dutt.
''This is the worst case,'' Dutt said. ''When you lose your first competitive game as a new coach, then it makes the work more difficult. The fans were really mad but their anger is justified. It's also my job to answer questions. There was certainly much to explain.''
There was another upset in Sunday's late game, with Nuremberg losing 5-4 on penalties at SV Sandhausen. Goalkeeper Manuel Riemann was the star for the second-division side, saving two spot-kicks after the game finished 1-1 following extra time.
Hamburg won 4-0 at fifth-tier club Jena but needed to wait until the 72nd for Artjoms Rudnevs to break the deadlock 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute. The Latvian striker rounded the goalkeeper for his second four minutes later, before Rafael van der Vaart and offseason signing Jacques Zoua put added gloss on the scoreline.
Hannover defeated fourth-tier team Victoria Hamburg 2-0, thanks to goals from Artur Sobiech in the 69th and Szabolcs Huszti in injury time.
Vedad Ibisevic scored with a header in the first half and converted a penalty in the second to give Stuttgart a 2-0 win over Dynamo Berlin.
Hertha Berlin needed Sami Allagui's penalty in injury time of extra time to salvage a 3-2 win over fourth-tier side Neumuenster.
Optik Rathenow, another fourth-tier team, took second-division club FSV Frankfurt to extra time but conceded two goals to lose 3-1 in its first German Cup game.
Third-division team Arminia Bielefeld provided the first surprise of the round by defeating promoted Bundesliga side Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1.
Fourth-tier side Wiedenbrueck caused another shock by beating second-division club Fortuna Duesseldorf 1-0 with an injury-time penalty from Marwin Studtrucker.
Second-division club Greuther Fuerth won 2-0 at fifth-tier side Pfeddersheim.
Later Sunday, fourth-tier team FV Illertissen will host Eintracht Frankfurt, St. Pauli visits third-division club Preussen Muenster, and second-division side SV Sandhausen entertains Nuremberg.
Bayern Munich begins its Cup defense at fourth-tier club BSV Rehden on Monday.
