PARIS — An outrageous strike by Radamel Falcao was the highlight as a much-changed Monaco side eased to a 2-0 win over Caen to reach the quarterfinals of France’s League Cup Tuesday.

Monaco was leading through Guido Carrillo’s first-half effort when Falcao — who had come off the bench — took a touch just inside the Caen half on the edge of the center circle.

The Colombian then turned and smashed a shot that flew over the Caen goalkeeper Brice Samba and in. It was his 18th goal of the season.

The principality side is currently third in Ligue 1, nine points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, and was knocked out of the Champions League after finishing bottom of their group.

Dortmund finally wins

Borussia Dortmund finally ended its winless streak in the Bundesliga by beating Mainz 2-0 in Peter Stoeger’s first game in charge Tuesday.

Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos broke the deadlock in the 55th minute and Shinji Kagawa sealed it in the 89th after Dortmund missed a host of chances to do so.

It was Dortmund’s first league win at the ninth attempt since September, and only its second in 14 games across all competitions.

The side’s slump led to the sacking of Peter Bosz on Sunday, when Stoeger took over.

Stoeger was sacked by Cologne the week before after his side failed to win in 14 Bundesliga games, but the Austrian coach is respected for leading Cologne to Bundesliga promotion in 2014 and overseeing steady progress in each of the following seasons - up to this one.

However, Dortmund’s uncertainty from its barren spell was clear to see in Mainz.

Dortmund wasted numerous good chances as Mainz tired, but Aubameyang finally set up Kagawa to seal it.

Leipzig dropped points for the fourth consecutive game in a 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg, giving Bayern Munich the chance to go even further ahead.

Bayern is already seven points clear and it hosts bottom side Cologne Wednesday.

Freiburg, which came from three goals down to beat Cologne 4-3 away Sunday, upset Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-0 thanks to Nils Petersen’s first-half penalty. He scored two late penalties in the win over Cologne.

The win over ‘Gladbach took Freiburg out of the relegation zone, where Hamburger SV dropped after losing at home to Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1.

Nagatomo rescues Inter

Serie A leader Inter Milan squeezed into the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup Tuesday, winning 5-4 on penalties after being held 0-0 after extra time by third division Pordenone.

Japanese defender Yuto Nagatomo nailed the winner from the spot after 120 minutes of frustration at the San Siro as home goalkeeper Daniele Padelli saved two penalties to put seven-time winners Inter through to a showdown with either AC Milan or Verona, who play Wednesday.

Luciano Spalletti’s decision to overhaul his squad after last Saturday’s goalless draw against Juventus backfired against the spirited Serie C side from near Venice who eliminated top-flight Cagliari in the last round.

“The players who have played less found it difficult tonight, because Pordenone had quality in midfield,” said Spalletti.

“We couldn’t take control of the ball to play, we felt challenged instead of everyone dealing with their various roles, and then from a psychological point of view everything became complicated because they became fired-up as the game went on.

“We were below our potential. At the end I was starting to lose confidence.”

The Italian Cup last 16 matches will be played throughout December and include six all top-flight clashes, including Napoli against Udinese and holders Juventus against Genoa. — Agencies