DORTMUND, Germany :Borussia Dortmund sailed into the last 16 of the Champions League after a comfortable 0-0 draw with Sporting in the second leg of their knockout phase playoff on Wednesday, giving last year’s runners-up a 3-0 aggregate win.
Dortmund will face Aston Villa or Lille in the last 16, depending on Friday’s draw.
Despite being 3-0 down from the first leg, Sporting showed little urgency early on, looking happy to sit back and wait for an opportunity to counter.
Sporting left their top scorer Viktor Gyokeres at home as a precaution. The striker, with 34 goals in 36 games this season, has struggled with a thigh injury but played at the weekend, and his absence was a sign of their resignation.
The first chance fell to the hosts when Marcel Sabitzer tried his luck from distance and the shot curled wide of the far post.
Sabitzer, seeking his first goal of the season, had another strike from outside the area but Sporting keeper Rui Silva parried the ball away for a corner.
Dortmund were awarded a penalty 13 minutes after the interval when Silva took down Karim Adeyemi but the keeper made amends by saving Serhou Guirassy’s spot kick to deny the Champions League’s top scorer this season his 11th goal of the competition.
MISSED CHANCES
Substitute Giovanni Reyna had an excellent chance to break the deadlock for the hosts when sent through with just the keeper to beat but he hit the upright and was unable to convert the rebound.
Emre Can did have the ball in the net with a header, but his effort was chalked off for offside, and Dortmund, who have lost their last two league games, the first two under new manager Niko Kovac, march on in Europe.
“I think it was not a great game by both teams. We dominated the game for over 90 minutes,” Kovac told reporters.
“We didn’t concede anything, even in the first half we only had a few shots. In the second half we were much more dangerous. We should have won the game.”
Sporting, meanwhile, continued their alarming drop in form since Ruben Amorim left to take charge of Manchester United in November.
Under Amorim, Sporting won three of their four games in the league phase and were second in the standings.
Since his departure they have failed to win a European match, losing five of six games, and their European adventure ended in anti-climax.
Now they will concentrate on retaining their league title.
“Clearly that is the ultimate goal. We want to be two-time champions and that’s what we’re going to fight for until the end,” manager Rui Borges told Sport TV.
