Benfica took a big step towards the Champions League last 16 with a 1-0 victory at 10-man AS Monaco in the first leg of the playoffs on Wednesday.
Vangelis Pavlidis scored the only goal early in the second half just before Moatasem al-Musrati was shown a red card after a second booking.
Benfica prevailed 3-2 at Louis II Stadium when the teams met in the league phase in November and they maintained their unbeaten record against the principality side in European competitions.
The return leg will be played next Tuesday with a tie against Barcelona or Liverpool looming for the winners.
“We are really disappointed, we had a good first half. We conceded that goal. I’ll be honest, we got killed off a bit, from a potential yellow card (against them) to an exclusion against us,” Monaco forward Breel Embolo said.
“We were punished for an action where Benfica’s fullback could have been booked and we were the ones getting booked. It’s not a good result, let’s be honest. There’s still the return leg and we’re staying positive.”
Alvaro Carreras and Maghnes Akliouche were the first players to step up for Benfica and Monaco in a lively start before the intensity dropped down a notch.
The hosts enjoyed possession but lacked creativity and Benfica reached the interval unscathed.
Things got worse for Monaco after the break as Pavlidis beat goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki with a delicate chip in the 48th minute and Al-Musrati picked up a second yellow card in the 52nd.
Majecki kept Monaco afloat just after the hour with a superb save to deny Pavlidis but they never really threatened to equalise after that.
