Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus Beat Lokomotiv Moscow to Advance in Champions League

Juventus are heading to the knockout phase of the Champions League, and they have Douglas Costa to thank.

The crafty winger's stoppage time goal gave Juventus a 2-1 victory over Lokomotiv Moscow on Wednesday at the RZD Arena. 

Aaron Ramsey scored the opening goal in the drama-filled result for Juventus, while Aleksey Miranchuk posted the lone goal for the home side.

With the victory, Juventus moved to 10 points in Group D, enough to guarantee their place in the Round of 16. Lokomotiv, meanwhile, will be eliminated if Atletico Madrid win one of their final three games. 

It wasn't the prettiest victory for Juventus, even if they held 68 percent of possession and put more goals on target (9-6), per Goal.com. It was Lokomotiv that looked more likely to score the game-winning goal in the second half, as their ambition on the counter put Juventus on their heels on several occasions.

Juve, meanwhile, were a bit more plodding than one might expect:

But Costa cured the doldrums with a winding, weaving run through Lokomotiv's defense before playing a tidy one-two with Gonzalo Higuain. From there, he dribbled into space between two defenders and slotted home past goalkeeper Guilherme, concluding a brilliant move and crucial win:

That earned him all the necessary plaudits, as one might expect:

Ramsey, meanwhile, might want to avoid Cristiano Ronaldo for a day or two after stealing a goal from him.

Ronaldo's free kick from about 30 yards out in the third minute was blasted directly at Guilherme, who flubbed the effort and let it dribble through his legs, toward the goal. The ball would have surely rolled past the line on its own, but Ramsey swooped in at the last moment, getting credit for the goal. 

It was a historic score, even if the prevailing joke after Ramsey's goal theft was that his Portuguese teammate might be left feeling a touch vexed:

Regardless, Juventus had the early goal, and would have been expected to mop up the game from there with minimal drama.

But Lokomotiv remained bright and composed, and less than 10 minutes later had their equalizer. Maciej Rybus' cross into the box found Miranchuk, who beat goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with a header. He didn't beat the right bar, however, and the shot bounced back into the box.

No matter—Miranchuk was there to clean up his own miss, easily tapping home to make it 1-1.

Wednesday's 2-1 loss could have easily been flipped for Lokomotiv, who played well throughout this contest.But in the end, Juventus' superior individual talent won out, as Maurizio Sarri had the luxury of bringing Costa off the bench, with the winger remaining less than 100 percent.

Juventus didn't need 100 percent on Wednesday, however—they just needed that one burst of joy from Costa, and they got it in the nick of time. On to the knockout phase they go, with two games to spare.

What's Next?

Juventus face AC Milan in Serie A action on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET, while Lokomotiv will take on FC Krasnodar that same day at 11 a.m. ET in a Russian Premier League showdown of top-four teams.