Top spot in the group locked Real Madrid into a second consecutive all-European clash, this time with Juventus.
There was only goal in the game, provided once again by Gonzalo Garcia, but the gulf in quality between the two teams looked far greater than just the single goal.
And that brought them a quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund at MetLife Stadium which, for most of the match, looked to be headed for a rather boring conclusion. Real Madrid had raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half and it seemed as though it would end that way.
But a stoppage-time period involving three goals, a penalty and red card ensured 10-man Madrid were made to sweat for their win with Thibaut Courtois making a vital save to deny extra time in the dying seconds.