Borussia Dortmund take a decisive step towards the Champions League round of 16 after beating Atalanta 2-0 in their first leg tie of the knockout playoffs.
Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier both scored apiece in the first half as Gli Orobici failed to claw their way back into the tie following a lackluster display.
In just the third minute of the kick-off, Julian Ryerson picked out Guirassy near the far post and the striker headed it in to break the deadlock and give Dortmund an early lead.
Beier then made it 2-0 close to half-time with a well-placed effort off a pass from Guirassy, as Atalanta's night went from bad to worse.
La Dea coach Raffaele Palladino made a few substitutions ahead of the second half which seemed to inject some life into the squad, but the visitors were never clinical enough to carve out clear-cut chances.
Having lost out in the playoffs last year too, Atalanta now have a mountain to climb in the second leg next week as Dortmund have one foot in the last-16.
Here are the player ratings:
Gregor Kobel - 7.5: The Swiss custodian wasn't tested much but looked aplomb whenever his intervention was needed
Luca Reggiani - 7.5: The teenager justified his place in the XI with a solid, commanding and composed showing in defense; six clearances and two interceptions to boot
Waldermar Anton - 7: Played a key role in recoveries as Anton made six while also displaying excellent vision to make a handful of clearances
Ramy Bensebaini - 8: The Algerian kept biting at the heels of Atalanta players for possession and came away successfully, winning all five of his duels while also looking strong in the air
Julian Ryerson - 8.5: The Dortmund assist-king was back to business as usual, laying it off for Guirassy to head in the opening goal, making it 14 assists for the season in all competitions
Jobe Bellingham - 7.5: Played a key role in regaining possession, winning eight of his 10 ground duels while making another five recoveries
Felix Nmecha - 7.5: Worked in tandem with Bellingham to win back the ball and stop Atalanta in their tracks
Daniel Svensson - 6.5: Overshadowed by better players around him but still a reliable figure defensively; his forays didn't yield anything meaningful though
Maximilian Beier - 7.5: Scored a goal to make it 2-0 for Dortmund, which was as good as it got for him in the game
Julian Brandt - 6: A surprisingly quite showing from the man on a crucial night for BVB
Serhou Guirassy - 9: Continued his hot run of form with another goal before turning provider for the second; a man-of-the-match display
Substitutes
Carney Chukwuemeka - 6.5
Karim Adeyemi - 7
Marcel Sabitzer - 6.5
Fabio Silva - 6