Serhou Guirassy guides Borussia Dortmund to a convincing UEFA Champions League first-leg play-off victory over Atalanta

Borussia Dortmund secured a comfortable 2-0 first-leg victory against Atalanta in their UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off tie, with a goal and assist from Serhou Guirassy setting them on their way to victory.

Borussia Dortmund – Atalanta
Goals: 1-0 Guirassy 3‘, 2-0 Beier 42‘

Dortmund headed into their Champions League play-off first leg without several key defensive players, as Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Süle, Emre Can, and Filippo Mané were all ruled out.

The absences provided an opportunity for 18-year-old Luca Reggiani, who made his first Champions League start for the hosts. Atalanta, meanwhile, travelled to Germany without Belgium international Charles De Ketelaere and Italy's Giacomo Raspadori, whilst both teams looked to secure a strong first-leg advantage in their quest to reach the next round of Europe's premier club competition.

Luca Reggiani recorded a clean sheet on his first senior start for the club. - Pau Barrena

Dortmund's flying start

The match kicked off 15 minutes later than scheduled due to travel problems for the Dortmund team, but once underway, the hosts wasted no time in seizing the initiative.

Just three minutes into the contest, Julian Ryerson delivered a pinpoint cross from the right flank, and Guirassy rose to head powerfully home past Marco Carnesecchi, sending the Signal Iduna Park into early celebrations. Ryerson, who had astonishingly provided four assists in his previous Bundesliga match against Mainz, continued his remarkable creative form.

Guirassy eased any nerves by scoring after just three minutes. - IMAGO/DeFodi.de

Atalanta struggle to respond

After the early setback, Atalanta gradually grew into the contest and began to cause problems around the 20-minute mark. The visitors' best attacking outlet was Nicola Zalewski, who delivered several dangerous crosses from the left flank that troubled the makeshift Dortmund defence.

However, Gregor Kobel remained alert in goal, and the hosts weathered the brief spell of pressure without any major scares. Mario Pašalić headed wide from a promising position, while Reggiani received the first booking of the match for a late challenge on Zalewski as tensions rose.

Reggiani & Co. managed to weather a flurry of Atalanta attacks. - IMAGO/Joachim Bywaletz

Beier doubles the advantage

As the first half wore on, Dortmund regained control and began to reassert their dominance. The Italian side grew increasingly frustrated, with both Odilon Kossounou and Berat Djimsiti receiving yellow cards in the 40th minute.

This pressure told just before the break when Guirassy combined brilliantly with Felix Nmecha on the left flank before breaking forward and sliding a perfect pass across the box for Maximilian Beier, who had the simple task of tapping into an empty net.

Gianluca Scamacca earned Atalanta's third booking of the half in stoppage time, summing up their frustrating opening 45 minutes.

Maximilian Beier scored the second of the night and set his side on their way to victory. - Alex Grimm

Professional second-half display

Atalanta coach Raffaele Palladino made two changes at the interval, bringing on Isak Hien and Nikola Krstović for the cautioned Djimsiti and Scamacca. The visitors enjoyed more possession after the restart but struggled to convert this into meaningful chances.

Krstović's tame effort from distance was comfortably saved by Kobel, while Waldemar Anton received a yellow card for a tactical foul as Dortmund remained disciplined defensively. The Italian side introduced more attacking reinforcements, with Kamaldeen Sulemana replacing captain Marten de Roon in the 63rd minute, but the Dortmund rearguard held firm.

Borussia Dortmund fought well in order to maintain their control over Atalanta. - IMAGO/Dennis Ewert/RHR-FOTO

Dortmund see out the victory

The hosts maintained their comfortable control over proceedings, limiting Atalanta to speculative efforts while managing the game intelligently. Both sides made further changes in the closing stages, with Lazar Samardžić, Fabio Silva and Marcel Sabitzer all entering the fray, but the scoreline remained unchanged as Dortmund secured a valuable 2-0 advantage to take to Italy for the second leg.

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