Borussia Dortmund battled into the DFB-Pokal last 16 with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory over Eintracht Frankfurt after Gregor Kobel starred in a 1-1 draw across 120 minutes.

Dortmund had to survive a late scare in extra time from Jonathan Burkardt to make it to spot-kicks at Deutsche Bank Park, before Niko Kovac's side held their nerve from 12 yards on Tuesday.

Standout star Kobel, who managed a string of fine stops in normal time, saved Fares Chaibi's penalty after Ritsu Doan had fired over his spot-kick, as Dortmund remained perfect from their four penalties.

It seemed the visitors may rue what could have been early on as Eintracht's seventh-minute opener was a goal made in Dortmund when Mario Gotze rolled through for Ansgar Knauff to convert against his former side.

Kovac's side were poor throughout a one-sided first half but fired level shortly after the break when Julian Brandt pounced at the back post from Julian Ryerson's dangerous delivery.

Kobel kept Dortmund level with brilliant saves from Knauff and Can Uzun, although the Dortmund goalkeeper was helped by the woodwork in between as Doan struck the crossbar.

Chaibi saw another fine effort equally matched by Kobel in the first half of an additional 30 minutes, while Burkardt scored in the 115th minute, only for a late offside flag to cut short celebrations.

Further frustration grew from the home support when Doan blazed his penalty high of the top-right corner, before Kobel deservedly delivered the decisive moment when diving to his right to deny Chaibi.

Data Debrief: Cool Kobel steals the show

Kobel was made to work throughout against Eintracht, who found the target with seven of their 16 attempts across 120 minutes.

The Dortmund goalkeeper kept his side alive with six saves, his joint-most across all competitions this season (along with six against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and Monterrey at the Club World Cup).

At the other end, Fabio Silva, Niklas Sule, Carney Chukwuemeka and Felix Nmecha managed to stay cool in the shoot-out as Dortmund continued to build on back-to-back wins over Copenhagen and Koln.