Despite going into the final match of the group stage with their hopes for the knockout round still undecided, Real Madrid won a crucial 2-0 game against Borussia Monchengladbach to move to first place and advance to the next stage.
It was a complicated group stage for Los Blancos, who lost twice to Shakhtar Donetsk and had drawn their previous matchup against their German foes despite having beaten Inter Milan twice.
Zinedine Zidane’s squad came through at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium on a chilly Wednesday night in Madrid when it counted the most, however, relying on two Karim Benzema goals to claim their spot in the knockout stage.
Benzema’s first goal happened thanks to a picture-perfect cross from Lucas Vazquez in the 9th minute of the game, which he calmly headed past Yann Sommer.
Madrid’s lead was doubled just over 20 minutes later after Benzema scored a very similar goal, following a Rodrygo Goes cross kick.
This was all Real Madrid needed to win and advance to the knockout stage as they have done every single time they have participated in the Champions League.
Real Madrid, the group winner, will await until Monday’s draw to find out their knockout stage opponent. Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach, who qualified as the group’s second place finisher, will hope to avoid any of the biggest teams in their draw.
