Borussia Dortmund took a strong grip on their UEFA Champions League play-off tie against Atalanta with a 2-0 first-leg victory at Signal Iduna Park, securing only their second win in eight UCL matches against Italian sides (D3, L3).

The match got off to a delayed start after Dortmund’s team bus was held up by traffic, arriving 15 minutes late. But once underway, the hosts hit the ground running.

Barely two minutes in, Julian Ryerson — coming off a four-assist haul in Friday’s 4-0 Bundesliga win over Mainz 05 — delivered a pinpoint cross for Serhou Guirassy, who powered in his 16th goal of the season across all competitions.

Atalanta came close to responding midway through the first half, with Mario Pašalić narrowly missing Nicola Zalewski’s cross across the box.

Ryerson’s early assist brought his season tally to 14 in all competitions, and he nearly added another when Waldemar Anton headed over from a free-kick. Dortmund doubled their advantage moments later as Guirassy, now on 20 goal contributions this season (16 goals, 4 assists), sprinted clear and set up Maximilian Beier to tap home his second goal in as many matches.

Despite Atalanta’s reputation for late goals — nine of their ten league-phase strikes came after half-time — the second half saw little threat to Gregor Kobel. Instead, Dortmund looked more likely to score again, with captain Julian Brandt dragging a close-range effort over the crossbar from a corner.

As the match drew to a close, Niko Kovac’s side opted to defend their lead, with 18-year-old debutant Luca Reggiani impressively keeping a clean sheet in his UCL debut.

The 2-0 win gives Dortmund a commanding position ahead of the second leg in eight days, with Die Schwarzgelben confident of progressing past Italian opposition in a two-legged tie for the first time in four attempts in this competition.