Real Madrid 2 Borussia Dortmund 2
A goal two minutes from time by Marco Reus gave Dortmund a share of the spoils against Real Madrid, and relegated the reigning Champions League holders to second place in Group F.
And that could be disastrous news for Arsenal or Leicester as it means they could be paired with the Spanish giants when the last 16 Draw is made on Monday. To make matters worse the two English clubs were already facing the prospect of being drawn against Bayern Munich, and the Gunners could also end up faing Porto, who thrashed Leicester 5-0 on Wednesday night, although the Foxes still finished top of Group G.
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Two goals from French striker Karim Benzema either side of half-time put Real Madrid well in control of the match, but the Germans fought back, first through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's strike on the hour mark and then the late effort from Reus.
"We let them off the hook when we missed a couple of chances," admitted Real coach Zinedine Zidane. "Our intensity reduced a little in the second half, but we still had chances to score more goals."
Dortmund's fightback took the gloss of the fact the result meant Zidane equalled Real's record of 34 consecutive matches unbeaten, a feat that has stood since Leo Beenhakker's 1988-89 squad avoided defeat for six months between October and April. That vintage won 25 and drew nine of their matches, just as Zidane's side have done, although they really should have added another victory on Wednesday night.
The fact they didn't leaves them awaiting Monday's draw with a degree of trepidation although that will be lessened by the knowledge that they won't be paired against Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, as clubs can't be drawn against sides from their own nation.
"I wanted to finish first and we did all we could to finish first," reflected Zidane who, asked about the last 16 draw replied: "I don't want Juventus."
Despite their 3-1 win over CSKA Moscow, Tottenham are the only English side not to make it through to the last 16, leaving Leicester, Arsenal and Manchester City to carry the flag in the knockout phase.
As group winners, the Gunners and the Foxes should in theory get the easier draw on Monday but there's no guarantee given the list of second-placed finishers. As well as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, the Premier League pair could end up facing Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica or Sevilla in the last 16.
In fact if anything, the Sky Blues have done themselves a favour finishing second in Group C behind Barcelona. Their opponents will be one of Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Monaco or Napoli. The first legs of the Last 16 will be played on Feb 14-15 and Feb 21-22 with the second legs on March 7-8 and 14-15.
