Borussia Dortmund advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League following a goalless draw with Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday, securing a 3-0 victory on aggregate.
Serhou Guirassy failed to convert a second-half penalty, but it proved inconsequential as last year’s finalists faced little pressure from Sporting and sailed through.
Dortmund’s prize is a matchup in the last 16 against either Aston Villa or Lille.
It was always a formidable challenge for this young Sporting team, severely affected by injuries, to reverse the damage from the first leg last week, where Guirassy, Pascal Gross, and Karim Adeyemi all found the net.
Dortmund controlled much of the second leg on a chilly night in Germany, with Marcel Sabitzer coming closest to scoring with a powerful shot from distance that Sporting’s goalkeeper Rui Silva expertly deflected around the post.
In the second half, Dortmund had an opportunity to seal the tie with a penalty when Silva was deemed to have fouled Adeyemi in the box after a long pass from Nico Schlotterbeck split the visitors’ defence.
However, Guirassy’s well-taken penalty was brilliantly saved by the Portuguese keeper, low to his right, denying the Guinean striker his 11th Champions League goal in just 10 games this season.
Gio Reyna, who came on as a substitute, nearly made an instant impact against the leaders of the Portuguese league by hitting the post, but this was an evening where Dortmund created few chances and Sporting created even less, as the visitors failed to record a single shot on target.
In the end, Sporting lacked the drive to turn the tie around, allowing Niko Kovac’s team to advance after a relatively straightforward night’s work.
