Monaco – Benfica secured a valuable away win against Monaco in their Champions League play-off, capitalizing on the home side playing with ten men for much of the second half. Vangelis Pavlidis opened the scoring with a brilliant chip from a difficult angle just three minutes after the break.
Monaco’s task became even harder four minutes later when midfielder Moatasem Al-Musrati, making his Champions League debut, was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. The incident occurred when Al-Musrati attempted to have Benfica defender Alvaro Carreras booked, but instead received a yellow card himself, which quickly turned into a red.
The first half was largely uneventful, with few clear scoring opportunities. Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin made a key save, denying Maghnes Akliouche’s shot across goal. Carreras, formerly of Manchester United, had two chances to score but his first attempt went just wide, and his second was saved by Monaco goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki.
Benfica are now strong favorites to progress to the last 16, with the second leg to be played in Lisbon on Tuesday. However, they may be without Angel di Maria for the return game after the Argentine winger left the field late in the match with a hamstring injury.
The winner of this tie will face either Liverpool or Barcelona in the next round.
