Edin Dzeko escaped CSKA’s offside trap and shot past keeper Igor Akinfeev in the 19th minute to make it 1-0.

Wolfsburg then completely gave away the initiative to CSKA, and could’ve paid for it twice before the break. First, Milos Krasic raced through the German defense, but failed to hit the target in a situation where it was harder to miss than to score.

And then Aleksey Berezutsky hit Wolfs keeper Diego Benaglio, shooting at point blank range.

But Wolfsburg couldn’t hold CSKA off any longer after the break. A lengthy attack by the hosts finished with Evgeny Aldonin finding the head of unmarked Tomas Necid, who made it 1-1 at the 58th minute.

And CSKA got the lead some eight minutes later. Krasic fired from 35 miters, leaving Benaglio no chance to make it 2-1.

Leonid Slutsky’s men needed another to level the score in face-to-face with Wolfsburg. They tried to find their luck on counterattacks, but no more goals were scored on the night.

2-1 it ended, and CSKA is level on points with Wolfsburg as both teams have 7 points.

In order to progress into the UEFA Champions League playoffs, the Armymen have to win against Besiktas in Turkey and hope Man U, which already reached the playoffs, will beat Wolfsburg.

“We faced a dilemma: maintain the pressure on the opponent’s goals, as we needed a two-goal advantage to get the desired goal difference; or go back and defend. Despite the fact that we could not win with the needed score, a victory in such difficult conditions may be considered a good result. Finishing on top in a tough match, in which we had to come from a goal down, is a great achievement. I think the team played very well,” Leonid Slutsky, CSKA coach, said.

The German coach Armin Veh was frustrated with the result, which puts his teams playoff hopes under threat.

“We have missed a glorious opportunity to wrap things up. We had everything under control,” Armin Veh said.

Manchester United 0-1 Besiktas

Besiktas, who were winless in the competition, added to the intrigue in the group, taking all three points in Manchester.

The Turks scored a lone goal against Man United’s second squad after a Rodrigo Tello shot from outside the box took a small deflection and ended up in Ben Foster’s net, 1-0.