Borussia Dortmund have secured first position in Group F after coming from two goals behind to draw 2-2 with Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Real Madrid led 2-0 early in the second period courtesy of a double from Karim Benzema, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang halved the deficit just past the hour, before Marco Reus came off the bench to level as the Bundesliga outfit kept hold of first position in the section.
It was Dortmund that carved out the first opportunity of the match inside the opening four minutes, but Andre Schurrle could only fire over the crossbar after meeting a smart cross from his skipper Marcel Schmelzer.
Real Madrid's first attempt on the Dortmund goal arrived in the 10th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo drove to the edge of the away side's box before finding Benzema with a clever flick, but Roman Weidenfeller made a smart save.
Nine minutes later, Weidenfeller, who was the busier of the two men between the sticks, made an even better save as the German goalkeeper got down to smother James Rodriguez, who had again been found by a Ronaldo pass.
The home side continued to threaten and eventually made the breakthrough in the 28th minute when Dani Carvajal, who was afforded far too much space in a wide position, delivered a dangerous cross towards the far post, where Benzema was lurking to fire into the bottom corner.
Despite falling behind, Dortmund remained a threat and came close to levelling on two separate occasions late in the first period, but Keylor Navas first kept out Christian Pulisic's low strike before denying Schurrle from a curling free kick, which had somehow found a route through the Real Madrid wall.
Dortmund came even closer in the final minutes of the first half when Ousmane Dembele broke down the right before releasing Gonzalo Castro, who delivered a low cross towards Aubameyang, but the ball just had too much pace and Real Madrid were able to lead into the half-time break.
Dortmund had two excellent chances to level in the opening five minutes of the second period, but Dembele's poked effort just missed the post, before Castro somehow failed to make contact on a low cross from Pulisic, which had found the German midfielder in all sorts of space.
Benzema brought a wonderful save from Weidenfeller in the 52nd minute after another quick Real Madrid break, but the Frenchman was not to be denied less than 60 seconds later when he headed a pin-point James cross into the bottom corner to send the home side two goals ahead on the night.
Dortmund were always dangerous, however, and halved the deficit just past the hour when Schmelzer's cushioned cross fell to Aubameyang and the Gabon international was never going to miss the target from close range.
Aubameyang then almost levelled the scores in the 64th minute when substitute Emre Mor delivered a low cross towards the striker, but the ball zipped off the turf and Real Madrid survived another dangerous moment during a period where they were under pressure from all angles.
Ronaldo and Benzema both had opportunities to hand Real Madrid a two-goal advantage once again with 20 minutes left, but Weidenfeller kept out the former's instinctive strike, before Benzema had a close-range header cleared off the line by Reus.
Marcelo was next to come close for the home side following a swift counter-attack, but the Brazilian fired into the stands after having the freedom of the Dortmund penalty area, which had been vacated by a number of yellow shirts. Ronaldo then had another chance, only to hit the post with a close-range effort.
Dortmund continued to press in the latter stages as they sought the equaliser that would have seen them finish above Real Madrid, and they levelled two minutes from the end of normal time when Aubameyang ran away from Ramos before delivering a low cross into Reus, who fired home from close range.
Matt Law
