Borussia Dortmund took a big step towards reaching the last 16 of the Champions League after they beat Atalanta 2-0 in the first leg of the play-offs.

Serhou Guirassy scored before assisting Maximilian Beier in the first half, though the Bundesliga outfit could rue some of their missed chances as they had the opportunity to all but end the tie at the Signal Iduna Park.

It took Niko Kovac's side just three minutes to open the scoring. Julian Ryerson, who registered four assists in their Bundesliga win over Mainz last time out, picked Guirassy out with a brilliant cross and the striker made no mistake with his header.

Ryerson should have had another assist to his name in the 41st minute when Waldermar Anton headed his free-kick over the bar from close range, but it mattered little as Beier doubled Dortmund's advantage less than 60 seconds later.

Guirassy played a give-and-go with Felix Nemcha on the left wing before driving into the box and squaring the ball across the face of goal, giving Beier a simple tap-in for 2-0.

The hosts continued to threaten from set-pieces in the second half, with Julian Brandt firing over the bar after Atalanta failed to clear Ryerson's corner, but the Serie A side managed to keep the deficit at two goals heading into their home leg.

Data Debrief: Guirassy shining again on the European stage

Since the start of last season, Guirassy has been directly involved in 24 goals in the Champions League (17 goals, seven assists), more than any other player during that period.

Along with scoring with his only shot, Guirassy registered the most touches in the box (seven), created the joint-most chances (three) and won the joint-most aerial duels (three) in the match.

His goal contributed 0.45 of Dortmund's 2.09 expected goals (xG), which came from nine attempts, while Atalanta accumulated just 0.46 xG from their seven shots in the match.

Ryerson, meanwhile, has recorded nine assists in nine competitive games in 2026 – this is bettered only by Bayern Munich's Michael Olise (10 in nine) among teams from Europe's top five leagues.