Bucharest beat Graz 2-1 to give them hope of qualifying, while Galatasaray saw off Panathinaikos 1-0.
Romanians take it to the wire, Galatasaray finish top
Dinamo Bucharest came from behind to see off lowly SK Strum Graz 2-1 and resurrect their qualification hopes, with Galatasaray crowning their place at the top of the group thanks to a 1-0 win over Panathinaikos.
Bucharest needed to beat Graz and hope Panathinaikos lost to Galatasaray to take it to the final round of matches, and they gave the crowd at the Dinamo Stadium something to cheer about.
Response
Things started badly though and Marlo Sonnleitner took the game by the scruff of the neck when he opened the scoring for Graz after just four minutes.
Cosmin Moti looked for an immediate response, but his shot failed to trouble Christian Gratzei.
Dinamo - whose only previous win came in the reverse of this fixture - hit back just before half-time when Marius Niculae found the net.
The home side seemed to have hindered their hopes of a comeback when they were reduced to 10 men, Laurentiu Rus seeing red after picking up a second bookable offence moments before the interval.
But it mattered little as Niculae scored his second of the night midway through the second half to complete the turn around.
Galatasaray went into the match in a comfortable position and their win sees them finish top of the group with 13 points.
Nervy
The match lacked intensity and both sides offered little going forward, the hosts perhaps allowing complacency to creep into matters.
Even an attacking 4-3-3 formation from
Panathinaikos could not inspire them to find a goal, with a win ensuring their route to the last 32 regardless of the result in Romania.
Pana stopper Josu Sarriegi had to be alert to clear Turan Arda's inswinging corner from the left at the near post before the Greeks had their first chance of note after 37 minutes, Ante Rukavina heading weakly to Leo Franco in the home goal.
It was Galatasaray who finally brought a dull game into life, Mustafa Sarp finding the breakthrough on 51 minutes to give his side the lead.
Sarp placed a left-footed shot into the bottom corner from close range following Arda's free-kick.
That proved to be enough for the win, cementing the Turks' place at the summit of the group going into the final around of matches.
Panathinaikos face a nervy finish, however, and need to avoid defeat when Bucharest visit the Olympic Stadium.
