体坛英语新闻：Anderlecht held Dortmund to 1-1 draw in UEFA Champions League

BERLIN, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund finished atop the standings in Group D despite a 1-1 draw with Anderlecht in UEFA Champions League' s group stage on Tuesday.

Wasteful Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw by resilient Anderlecht, who cancelled out Ciro Immobile' s opener thanks to Aleksandar Mitrovic' s header in the closing period.

Dortmund controlled the proceedings on home soil by pressing the visitors from Anderlecht into the defence. Ciro Immobile created the first chance of the game when his shot on target forced Anderlecht' s goalkeeper Silvio Proto to make a save in the opening period.

As the match progressed the visitors gained a foothold into the encounter as Aleksandar Mitrovic worked out two promising opportunities but Dortmund goalie Mitchell Langerak was on guard to deny the opener.

The hosts lacked in penetration and had to wait after the break before Ciro Immobile broke the deadlock after a number of goal threatening chances by the Italian and his teammate Mikhitaryan.

However, Immobile finally overcame Anderlecht' s defence thanks to a through ball by Nuri Sahin, so that the striker had all time and space inside the box to slot home into the top left corner at the 58th minute.

The "BVB" increased the pressure but they remained wasteful on the finish, as Shinji Kagawa pulled wide from the edge of the box just moments later. Mikhitaryan and Immobile continued to pose threat with their efforts but for all that they were unable to double the lead.

Instead resilient Anderlecht punished the hosts for their poor chance conversion and denied the win with a late header by Aleksandar Mitrovic. Dortmund failed to clear the ball from their territory, allowing Anthony Vanden Borre to cross the ball into the box to Mitrovic, who headed home at the far post to restore parity with six minutes remaining.

"We have snatched the first place in the group, which is the maximum target," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said.

With the result Dortmund complete the group stage on top of the table. As a consequence, they avoid other top teams in the round of last 16. Meanwhile Anderlecht knew their fate before the kick off as they will play in the UEFA Europa League in February.

Dortmund completed Group D with 13 points, followed by Arsenal with 13 points and a weaker goal difference, Anderlecht with 6 points and Galatasaray with one point.