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Group F reached its conclusion in thrilling fashion as Lazio survived a late bombardment from 10 man Club Brugge to join Borussia Dortmund in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

A goal and a man up at the interval at the Stadio Olimpico, Simone Inzaghi's side looked to be cruising to victory and even the top of the group as Dortmund trailed Zenit St Petersburg. Yet as the Germans took the lead in Russia, Brugge set the stage for a thrilling finale in Rome, with Hans Vanaken scoring in the 75th minute before a crossbar saved Lazio from shock elimination.

Here are the key takeaways as Group F reached its conclusion:

Brugge fall short in thrilling draw with Lazio

The two sides battling to join Borussia Dortmund in the knockout stages made for the perfect match for any watching neutrals. Both sides had attacking talent in abundance, defenders who were making clumsy errors aplenty and former Liverpool goalkeepers who were prone to spill the ball into the path of an onrushing forward. All that and the driving rain made for slips and trips aplenty.

Lazio moved into the ascendancy early on when Joaquin Correa combined with Luis Alberto, the Argentine poking home the rebound after Simon Mignolet saved. If the Belgian might have felt he could have done no more than parry Alberto's shot there was no similar case for the defence where Pepe Reina was concerned.

Noa Lang's low shot was straight at the 38-year-old but the ball slipped out of his arms and into the path of Ruud Vormer. Parity only lasted 12 minutes before Ciro Immobile converted from the spot after drawing a foul from Clinton Mata; it would have been a bold man who predicted that would have been the end of the scoring as the heavens opened at the Stadio Olimpico.

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Ciro Immobile scores a penalty for Lazio against Brugge Getty Images

Yet just as Brugge seemed to be building pressure towards a second equalizer Eduard Sobol was off. The Ukrainian defender was back in the dressing room after 39 minutes yet seemed to be living a charmed life making it that far, hurling himself full-blooded at the ball any time it came in his general proximity. He had been exceedingly lucky to avoid a second yellow from Cuneyt Cekir when he clattered Manuel Lazzari moments earlier and simply did not learn his lesson.

To make matters worse Philippe Clement felt he had no choice but to withdraw the excellent Lang to add solidity to his defense. Without the Ajax loanee Brugge lacked the freewheeling spirit that seemed destined to earn them more chances as the game wore on. What they did have was the solidity to restrict Lazio throughout the second half, setting the stage for a final 15 minutes where they could go for broke.

That they did, Krepin Diatta darted around three Lazio defenders on the right before Vormer laid a perfect cross onto the head of Vanaken. Having held Brugge at arms length the Italian side found themselves resorting to panicked clearances whilst Reina was fortunate that Cekir saw a foul few others did when he dropped a corner.

Brugge's chance came in the second minute of stoppage time, a David Okereke cross shanked by Vormer and into the path of Charles De Ketelaere. His volley was sweetly struck and Reina was beaten yet the crossbar saved Lazio, who qualify for the knockout stages for the first time in 20 years.

Haaland-less Dortmund make heavy work of Zenit

The remaining 23 days of 2020 could feel very long indeed for Borussia Dortmund as they await the return of Erling Haaland. Without their goal scoring machine they look all too easy to defend against, offering nice build-up play and little to no cutting edge. Having turned their domination of possession against Eintracht Frankfurt into one goal they almost repeated the trick against Zenit St Petersburg.

Two infrequent goal scorers - Lukasz Piszcek and Axel Witsel - did just enough for Dortmund to secure the win that guaranteed them top spot in Group F but without their focal point the Lucien Favre's side were fortunate indeed to depart Russia with three points.

By the interval Dortmund had registered seven shots on goal yet all that Mikhail Kerzhakov had to do was save comfortably at his near post. When Jude Bellingham looped an unmarked header over the crossbar it was hard to shake the sense that with Haaland in the side they would at least be level.

Still the Norwegian would not have been able to solve all their issues. There was good fortune in Zenit's opener as Sebastian Driussi's shot deflected off Mats Hummels but equally the visitors were fortunate that a corner early in the second half cannoned around their penalty area without the Russians getting a convincing effort on goal.

It said everything of Dortmund's desperation for a cutting edge that Lucien Favre turned to Youssoufa Moukoko the youngest player ever to play in the Champions League, even ahead of Jadon Sancho, a reminder that creative options heavily outnumber those whose greatest qualities lie in putting the ball in the net. 

Instead of Moukoko it was someone 19 years his senior who saved his side, Lukasz Piszcek poking home after chaos at a corner for his first goal since February. Zenit had further chances to restore their lead but were ultimately undone when Witsel drove through a thicket of bodies and past Kerzhakov at his near post.

Notable performances

Noa Lang: What might have been for Brugge if the 21-year-old had not been sacrificed following Sobol's red card. In combination with Hans Vanaken and De Ketelaere he had been creating all sorts of trouble down the Lazio right for the first half hour of the game. RATING: 7

Malcom: Relished the chance to torture Nico Schulz on the Dortmund left, constantly searching for the one-on-one and delivering tempting crosses. RATING: 7

Final table


WDLGDPts

Borussia Dortmund

4

1

1

7

13

Lazio

2

4

0

4

10

Club Brugge

2

2

2

-2

8

Zenit

0

1

5

-9

1