Vangelis Pavlidis scored his sixth goal in this season's Champions League to give Benfica a 1-0 win away to 10-man Monaco in the first leg of their knockout phase play-off tie on Wednesday. Benfica, who are currently second in the Portuguese league behind Lisbon rivals Sporting,

Benfica took a step towards the Champions League last 16 with an away victory in Monaco thanks to a superbly taken second-half goal from in-form Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis. Bruno Lage and his team will be pleased with the win but may feel they could have put the tie to bed after Monaco’s former Braga midfielder Al-Musrati was sent off early in the second half and Benfica missed chances to amplify their lead.

MONACO (Reuters) -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.

Monaco and Benfica were not initially considered favorites to reach the last 16 of the Champions League. However, whichever team advances from the play-offs starting on Wednesday will no longer be seen as an underdog in a competition where both clubs have already proven their credentials.