Borussia Dortmund overcame Atalanta 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League intermediate playoffs at the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday.
In-form Serhou Guirassy was on target again while Maximilian Beier also scored as BVB now take a healthy advantage into the second leg at Bergamo next week.
Billed as a fascinating encounter between two sides on a solid domestic run of form, the match quickly turned lopsided with La Dea looking toothless.
In fact, it took Dortmund only two minutes to break the deadlock as Guirassy headed home a cross from Julian Ryerson for 1-0.
Towards the end of the hald, Beier converted a shot from Guirassy's pass to double their advantage as Niko Kovac's side went into the break 2-0 up.
Atalanta had a point to prove in the second half but looked sloppy and could never really assert themselves onto the match as Dortmund had their numbers in the game.
The Serie A side now have a mountain to climb in the second leg next week or risk losing out in the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Guirassy delivers yet again
The Guinean star came into the fixture on the back of five goals in three games and hungry to translate that form onto the European stage too. With a goal and an assist last night, it's safe to say he pulled it off.
Less than three minutes into the kick-off, Guirassy headed one in for 1-0, making it his third header goal in a row while extending his goalscoring run to four games in all competitions. But he didn't stop at that, as the 29-year-old then turned provider for Beier's goal too.
Atalanta flattered to deceive
La Dea came in on the back of three consecutive domestic wins and unbeaten in their last four games, looking menacing in the attack too.
But the side failed to carry that form into a Champions League night as Atalanta failed to truly test the Dortmund defense.
Raffaele Palladino made a few substitutions at the break in a tacticval move to boost their frontlines and it appeared to work to a certain extend.
Nikola Krstovic added some much-needed bite to Atalanta's attack while Lazar Samardzic forced a save from Gregor Kobel in the dying embers.
Yet, the visitors were never truly able to carve open BVB's backline as their forwards lacked the cutting edge to make their chances - whatever few they mustered - count.
Dortmund have one leg in the last-16
Dortmund can be excused for feeling confident of their chances of reaching the last-16 after this game, as a 2-0 advantage is quite a good one to carry into the second leg.
Make no mistake, Atalanta can still overturn the deficit, with the side only recently beating Juventus by three goals, but their Champions League record doesn't inspire much hope.