BERLIN, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund progressed into the round of the last 16 despite playing out a goalless stalemate against Club Brugge at the 5th round in Champions League's group stage on Wednesday.
The "BVB" controlled the proceedings from the kick off and dominated possession but still the hosts lacked in penetration to overcome Brugge's well-positioned defence.
Dortmund came to their first chance with ten minutes into the game when Christian Pulisic tested goalkeeper Ethan Horvath from very close range following the build up work from Marco Reus.
Brugge defended deep and showed no interest to stage an offensively minded performance on the road, and that, although they were in need of a victory.
The hosts should have opened the scoring at the half hour mark but Marco Reus missed the target just wide following a one-on-one with Brugge goalkeeper Ethan Horvath.
After the restart, Dortmund and Brugge started where they left off. The hosts dictated the pace whereas the visitors kept all their men behind the ball.
Nevertheless, Dortmund continued to produce opportunities as Paco Alcacer unleashed a long-range effort to force Horvath into action.
As the match progressed, Dortmund lacked in ideas and were unable to turn their dominance into a tangible reward.
Club Brugge almost shocked the host in the 74th minute when Emmanuel Dennis pulled just wide from promising position. Dortmund remained in control but were unable to break the deadlock on home soil.
With the result, Club Atletico de Madrid top Group A with 12 points followed by Dortmund (10 points), Club Brugge (5 points) and AS Monaco (1 point).
"We are delighted that we have reached the next round. Brugge defended very well and we did not find a gap in their bulwark. We lacked in pace today," Borussia Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre said.
"We staged an average performance. We had two golden chances in the first half but squandered them. Due to our lack of pace we allowed Brugge to organise their defence. At the end of the day, it is important that we progressed into the next round," Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc said.
