3-0 – Dembélé the driving force, Pulisic, Schürrle & Schmelzer the scorers

Boris Rupert reporting from Osnabrück

15,780 spectators at a sold-out Stadion an der Bremer Brücke in Osnabrück witnessed an intense and hard-fought encounter in which the hosts were unable to reproduce the immense commitment they showed in the first period or keep up with Borussia's tempo after the half-time interval. 

The scenario:  
Sportfreunde had knocked out Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen and 1860 Munich en route to the DFB Cup quarter-finals and went into this last-eight tie in third place in the third tier (with a game in hand) following two consecutive home victories in the league. Borussia, meanwhile, had secured their quarter-final berth thanks to a win in Trier and shootout victories over capital clubs Union and Hertha BSC. The tie was initially scheduled to take place 14 days ago, but with the referee deeming the pitch to be unplayable, the match in Lotte was cancelled an hour before kick-off and subsequently rescheduled to take place at the Stadion an der Bremer Brücke in Osnabrück.

Personnel matters:  
Borussia Dortmund were without Aubameyang (adductor complaints), Weigl (muscular problems), Sokratis (suspended), Reus (fibre tear), Götze (metabolic disorder), Bender (fitness) and Rode (training following groin operation), but Sahin and Isak were included in the squad – the former following a lengthy spell sidelined with injury. Thomas Tuchel made three changes to the team that lost 2-1 in Berlin in the Bundesliga three days ago, bringing in Dembélé, Pulisic and Piszczek in place of Durm, Weigl and Aubameyang.

Tactics: 
Both teams took to the field in a 4-3-3 formation, but the third-tier outfit unsurprisingly opted for a more defensive approach than their top-flight opponents, looking to win the ball and switch the play at speed. BVB were fielding a back four for the first time since the 3-0 home victory over Wolfsburg in mid-February. In defensive midfield was Castro, with Kagawa (right) and Guerreiro (left) on either side. The front three consisted of Pulisic (initially left) and Dembélé (right) down the flanks, while Schürrle took up the centre-forward role.

The match & analysis:
Lotte set a high tempo and attempted make their mark on their opponents – in particular young wingers Pulisic and Dembélé – by taking a physical approach. The third-tier team narrowly won the majority of the tackles in the first quarter of an hour and had a gilt-edged chance to score through Wendel after a corner was played back into the box in the 11th minute, but the midfielder's effort was denied by Bürki in a one on one. The visitors struggled in the opening stages, did not really get into the game and had hardly any attempts to score. Schürrle's early goal was disallowed for offside (3), and although Dembélé got on the end of a Schürrle cross in the 15th minute, the Frenchman didn't get enough power behind his header.

From the stands the pitch looked in a significantly better state than the one in Lotte a fortnight ago, but it was still a long way from being top-flight quality. The Black and Yellows improved considerably as the match progressed, but clearly struggled to play the ball quickly, directly and low. Castro's effort from long-range (30) and Schürrle's header (35) were the only other notable incidents in what remained of the first 45 minutes.

BVB's first major opportunity of the second half came courtesy of a lovely move involving Piszczek, Schürrle and Pulisic in the 48th minute, but Kagawa's shot from a centre-left position around eight metres out was saved by shot-stopper Fernandez, then Schürrle's header from the ensuing corner was cleared away for another corner at the last minute.

Then, in the 57th minute, the deadlock was broken when Dembélé burst at speed from inside his own half, pulling away from the chasing pack before squaring the ball left to the onrushing Pulisic 16 metres from goal. The young US international, the only player who could keep up with the Frenchman, slotted through the keeper's legs to get his fifth goal of the season.

09 minutes later an inswinging Kagawa cross into the six-yard box from the left found Guerreiro, who nodded the ball back for Schürrle to smash home the second of the night and his fifth of the campaign.

By this point the game was up for Lotte, who were paying the price for their hard-running performance in the opening half. The victory was then rounded off when captain Schmelzer fired home a direct free-kick from 30 metres out.

Prospects: 
The semi-final will be played in the Allianz Arena in Munich on 26 or 27 April, while the final is scheduled for 27 May in Berlin. BVB's next game comes on Friday (kick-off 20:30 CET), when they play host to FC Ingolstadt.

Teams & goals