Monaco Struggles Against Benfica and Trubin in Champions League

In a repeat of their encounter on November 27 in the group stage of the Champions League, Benfica triumphed once again over Monaco at the Louis II Stadium in the Round of 16. This time, the tie consists of two legs, and the Monégasques will still have a chance to fight back in the second leg in Lisbon, though Benfica has left them with only a slim opportunity.

During the first half, Monaco created some pressure on the goal of Anatoliy Trubin, with their most dangerous chance coming from a shot by Akluish, which was well saved by the Ukrainian goalkeeper. It was expected that the home team would step up their attack in the second half, but the opposite happened.

Just three minutes into the second half, Araujo and Pavlidis combined to score the only goal of the match, which ultimately decided the outcome. Monaco then threw everything forward in search of an equalizer, but in one instance, Carreras fouled Embolo. Al Musrati called for a second yellow card for Carreras, forgetting that he himself was already booked. To the surprise of the Monaco players, the referee issued a second yellow card, but it was to Al Musrati, not Carreras. This was the turning point of the match, as the home side’s hopes of a comeback were dashed. Benfica had a few more chances to extend their lead, creating 3-4 good opportunities, but failed to score, which could come back to haunt them in the return leg next week.

2024-25 UEFA Champions League

Monaco - Benfica 0:1 (0:0)
Goals: Pavlidis E., 48 (0:1)

Monaco: Majecki; Vanderson O.; Kehrer; Salisu; Akliouche (Ben Seghir, 68); Al Musrati Mohamed (till 52); Biereth (Magassa, 57); Golovin (Minamino, 68); Zakaria D.; Diatta; Embolo
Bench: Köhn; Lienard; Ouattara К.; Diop E.; Caio Henrique; Camara L.; Coulibaly M.; Ilenikhena; Michal
Yellow Cards: Al Musrati Mohamed 41, 52; Vanderson O. 79; Zakaria D. 91
Red cards: Al Musrati Mohamed 52'

Benfica: Trubin; Araújo T. (Di Maria, 67; Cabral, 86); Otamendi; Silva A.; Fernandez Ál.; Kökçü; Pavlidis E. (Belotti, 78); Florentino (Barreiro L., 67); Schjelderup (Amdouni, 78); Aursnes; Aktürkoglu
Bench: Andre Gomes; Soares S.; Bajrami Adrian; Dahl; Leandro Santos; Felix N.; Prestianni
Yellow Cards: Fernandez Ál. 16; Florentino 56