Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Sporting CP - Lions limp out of the UEFA Champions League | OneFootball

Sporting Clube de Portugal’s UEFA Champions League campaign came to a close in the knockout round play-offs after a 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund.

Down 3-0 after a disappointing display in the first leg in Lisbon, Rui Borge's side were second best at Westfalenstadion and never looked like scoring let alone overturning the deficit.

Rui Silva was man of the match in Germany, denying Marcel Sabitzer in the first half and saving Serhou Guirassy’s penalty after the break.

Giovanni Reyna came off the bench and hit the post as Dortmund ended with 18-6 shots, Sporting registering just one shot on target which came in the 85th minute.

Dortmund on top

Neither goalkeeper was tested until the 27th minute when Marcel Sabitzer’s low drive was tipped past the post by Rui Silva. João Simões suffered another injury and was replaced by Zeno Debast five minutes before half-time.

Borussia Dortmund continued to dominate the match, Jamie Gittens heading Julian Ryerson’s cross over the bar and Sabitzer missing the target. Morten Hjulmand was hurt in the first half and made way for Alexandre Brito at the break.

The German club continued where they left off after the restart, Karim Adeyemi’s shot saved by Silva and the goalkeeper called into action again in the 53rd minute when he denied Daniel Svensson.

Borges made two more changes in the 56th minute when Gonçalo Inácio and Biel made way for Maxi Araújo and Afonso Moreira.

Silva steps up

Two minutes later a long pass from Nico Schlotterbeck released Adeyemi who went down after colliding with Silva. Referee Davide Massa awarded a penalty, the goalkeeper diving to his right and saving Serhou Guirassy's spot kick.

The save appeared to spur Sporting into action, the Portuguese club enjoying a brief spell of pressure with Brito firing a low drive wide. Dortmund got back on the front foot and continued to search for the opening goal.

Niko Kovač introduced Giovanni Reyna and Julien Duranville in the 69th minute. Less than 60 seconds later Reyna ran onto Maximilian Beier’s pass and hit the post.

Emre Can headed home Ryerson’s free kick from an offside position as Dortmund continued to miss chances.

Harder headed a weak effort at Gregor Kobel in the 85th minute, Sporting’s first any only shot on target throughout the match which highlighted the one sided nature of the encounter.

Job done in the first leg

Borussia Dortmund dominated the contest and did enough to win. Most neutral observers would have abandoned the match before full-time and made themselves a drink before settling in to watch Real Madrid vs Manchester City.

The German club won 3-0 in the first leg and the result in Lisbon largely made the second leg a formality. Rui Borges left Francisco Trincão and Viktor Gyökeres in Portugal to make his feelings about a comeback clear.

The most notable things that happened for Borges’ side was Biel’s first start alongside some game time for Alexandre Brito, Afonso Moreira and a senior debut for Lucas Anjos.

Sporting started the Champions League with plenty of optimism, beating Lille and Manchester City at home alongside a 1-1 draw at PSV and 2-0 victory at Sturm Graz. Those results all came under Ruben Amorim, the club failing to win in six matches after the manager left to join Manchester United.

The Lions can now concentrate on defending their Primeira Liga title and attempting to win the Taça de Portugal for the first time since 2019.