A confident display from Augsburg put an in-form Freiburg to the sword, thanks to goals from Ji-Dong Won, Alexander Esswein and Caiuby.
Freiburg made just two changes from the weekend defeat to St. Pauli, as Julian Schuster and Patric Klandt were brought in for Amir Abrashi and Alexander Schwolow. As for Augsburg, they opted for several changes after their drubbing in Dortmund. Christoph Janker, Jeong-Ho Hong, Ji Dong-Won, Caiuby and Tim Matavz all started in place of Markus Feulner, Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker, Ja-Cheol Koo, Piotr Trochowski and Raul Bobadilla.
Augsburg show their quality in first half
Despite the difference in form, it was the Bundesliga side that had the opening chance. It was a glorious one, too, as Ji whipped in a dangerous corner in the opening minutes. Caiuby rose highest and unmarked, to meet it but somehow managed to miss from just a few yards out.
The Bavarians did not have to wait long until they did open the scoring, however. After affording the South Korean midfielder too much room, Ji curled home a tidy right-footed shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Klandt was at full stretch, but the placement was just too precise for him to get a hand to the ball.
Freiburg, to their credit, did not lie down and try to calm the game down. Instead, the hosts rattled the bar shortly after going a goal behind. Immanuel Höhn headed a free-kick towards the back post and Mike Frantz. The midfielder met the ball strongly but his close-range header was kept out by the bar. Vincenzo Grifo's stellar strike brought the best out of Marwin Hitz soon after, but their recovery was to be short-lived.
It was, once again, a case of perfect placement from an effort just outside the area. Alexander Esswein broke through a series of weak tackles in midfield before driving towards goal. He rounded one more Freiburg defender before picking out the bottom corner from 20 yards. Almost always a player to go for power rather than precision, this strike showed that Esswein can do both with equal success.
Third goal adds to Freiburg's woes
The best efforts of the home side went unrewarded going into half time, and it was to get worse just five minutes into the second half. Some lovely play by Matavz saw the tall forward drift past several players before crossing the ball in to the path of Caiuby. The Brazilian finally managed to get on the scoresheet, tapping into the open goal.
A series of substitutes at the start of the second half didn't have the desired effect for Freiburg, who were struggling to make any mark going forward. Augsburg were trying to add even more to their tally, though Markus Weinzierl's side were being disrupted by constant fouls from both teams.
In truth, the second half was largely uneventful and it was just a matter of waiting for the final whistle. Augsburg advanced deservedly and comfortably, leaving Freiburg to lick their wounds. The main aim for the hosts was not cup glory but promotion.