Scoreless stalemate sees Dortmund into the Round of 16 | OneFootball

With stalemate in their second-leg play-off against Sporting Lisbon this evening, Borussia Dortmund have rubber stamped their passage into the Champions League Round of 16 which will take place in early March. An aggregate score of 3-0 proved to be enough in the end.

The approach from the Portuguese visitors was clear from the outset - defend deep, surrender possession and look to strike on the counterattack when Dortmund commit.

In truth, it would prove to be a rather tame half which unfurled at the leisure of the BVB tempo. With stars Viktor Gyökeres and Francisco Trincão left at home, a move which angered Sporting's fans, Rui Borges' side never really threatened.

Rui Costa produced the save of the half just before the hour mark as Groß and Adeyemi teed up Marcel Sabitzer. The Austrian's powerful effort required a fingertip to divert the ball around the post.

Die Schwarzgelben remained on the front foot after the interval as Karim Adeyemi forced Rui Costa into another sharp parry. The Portuguese shot-stopper would be Sporting's top performer as he repelled Daniel Svensson from range minutes later.

Although the 31-year-old brought Adeyemi to ground approaching the hour which resulted in a penalty, he made ammends in an instant by denying Serhou Guirassy from the spot.

At the other end, Alexandro Brito flashed a speculative long-range effort wide from range. The post came to the Lisbon club's rescue in the 69th-minute as substitute Gio Reyna came within inches of an instant impact.

BVB had the ball in the visitors' net minutes later but Emre Can looked unconvinced. The skipper nodded home from a set-piece but a hasty VAR review picked up a clear offside.

A brief late surge from Sporting, which included a Konrad Harder header flicked past Gregor Kobel's near post, yielded nothing. Dortmund reach the next round in ease where they will face either Aston Villa or LOSC Lille.