THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERLIN — Schalke was knocked out of the German Cup in a 2-1 home defeat by Mainz on Tuesday in the Gelsenkirchen-based club’s first game without Huub Stevens as coach.
Marco Caligiuri opened the scoring in the 30th minute for the visitors with a fantastic strike into the right corner.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar pulled one back from close range with 15 minutes remaining, but Nicolai Mueller scored in the 83rd to ensure the 2011 champion’s miserable end to the year continued.
Stevens left the club Sunday after six games without a win across all competitions.
Freiburg won 1-0 at third-division Karlsruher SC thanks to Jonathan Schmid’s goal in the second minute, firing through the goalkeeper’s legs.
Bayern Munich was visiting Augsburg and third-division side Kickers Offenbach was hosting Fortuna Duesseldorf later Tuesday.