Madrid slip has Zidane fearful of Juve reunion

Real Madrid boss Zine-dine Zidane hopes to avoid a return to Juventus in the Champions League last 16 after the holder blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday and qualify second from Group F.

A Karim Benzema double had Madrid on course to leapfrog the Germans into top spot, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang halved Dortmund's deficit before teeing up Marco Reus for the equalizer two minutes from time.

However, that late goal could benefit Real because it now can't face Bayern Munich, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain in Monday's draw.

Instead, one of Leicester City, Arsenal, Monaco, Juventus or Napoli will stand in Real's way come the new year.

"Juventus - for two reasons," said Zidane, who joined Real from the Turin club for a world-record fee in 2001, when asked which team he wants to avoid.

"I am very proud of the players and how they played against a great team with good players.

"We needed to be a bit more attentive in the final 10 minutes.

"We have to forget about it and move on. Given what we had done (in the group) until now it was logical that they finished top and us second."

A draw was enough to extend Real's unbeaten run in all competitions since April to 34 games - matching a club record.

However, the Frenchman refused to take credit despite inspiring a huge turnaround in fortunes for the Spanish giant since taking his first senior managerial role in January.