Bayern Munich have begun the defence of their DFB-Pokal crown with a comfortable 4-1 victory over minnows Preussen Munster this afternoon.

The visiting side made the breakthrough with 23 minutes on the clock courtesy of Mario Gotze, who headed home Robert Lewandowski's cross.

The Polish striker, who officially joined Bayern this summer from German rivals Borussia Dortmund, almost got his name on the scoresheet moments later, but he was well kept out by the Munster defence.

The Bundesliga champions did not have to wait long for a second, however, with Thomas Muller finding the back of the net after the ball ricocheted into his path.

David Alaba's thumping strike made certain of the victory six minutes after the restart, while Claudio Pizarro added the fourth late on.

Rogier Krohne did managed to pull a goal back for the third-tier side on 88 minutes, and the drama did not end there as Marc Heitmeier was shown a red card for hauling down Lewandowski at the death, but the striker missed the resulting penalty.