Borussia Dortmund played out a goalless stalemate against Sporting CP as they still comfortably progressed to the Champions League round of 16.
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Dortmund play out draw with SportingGuirassy misses penaltyBundesliga side won first leg 3-0Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱TELL ME MORE
The match got off to a flat start as Sporting looked demotivated right from the off after conceding three goals at home in the first leg. The visitors hardly made any attempt to trouble the Dortmund backline and did not even have a shot on goal in the first 30 minutes. The Portuguese side dearly missed their star striker Viktor Gyokeres, as he is still recovering from a thigh injury.
Hosts Dortmund showed some intent to increase their tally and dominated proceedings in the first half. They had six shots on goal but kept just two of them on target.
The Germans continued to dominate the game after the break and had won a penalty just before the hour mark when Karim Adeyemi was brought down inside the box by Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva. Serhou Guirassy took the resulting spot-kick but failed to trouble Silva, who comfortably stopped the ball by diving to his right.
The game would end goalless, with Niko Kovac's side keeping their slim hopes of competing in the Champions League next season alive as they progressed to the last 16 of this season's edition with a 3-0 win on aggregate.
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Adeyemi was a livewire in Dortmund's attack as he made key runs from time to time and also created a few goal-scoring opportunities. He was instrumental in earning the penalty for his side around the hour mark but Guirassy's weak spot-kick denied Dortmund the win on the night.
AFPTHE BIG LOSER
Rui Borges' tactics seemed confusing as his team lacked the motivation to stage a comeback in the second leg throughout the match. It was as if the Portuguese giants had already accepted their fate while heading to Germany as they failed to produce any genuine goal-scoring opportunities.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
After securing a place in the Champions League round of 16, Kovac's side will be back in action on Sunday as they take on Union Berlin in a Bundesliga home fixture.
