AS Monaco suffered their first Champions League defeat of the campaign at the hands of Benfica (2-3), who dramatically reversed the score-line in the dying stages.
The Principality club could have gone second in the standings in the event of a victory at the Stade Louis II and for long periods of the match, they looked on course to do exactly that. After Monaco’s academy side beat their Portuguese counterparts in La Turbie earlier in the afternoon, the first-team rushed into an early lead thanks to Eliesse Ben Seghir. He profited from Aleksandr Golovin’s good work – the Russian beginning the move deep inside his own half before providing the assist for Ben Seghir.
In control for large parts of the first half, the match ultimately hinged on a refereeing decision just before the break. Álvara Carreras, already on a yellow, hacked down Wilfried Singo but the referee did not brandish another yellow. Instead, it was Thilo Kehrer, Denis Zakaria, and then Singo himself who all went into the book for their protests. The yellow card for the latter proved costly later on.
Having lost their last two in the Champions League, Benfica came out with intent at the start of the second half. Whilst Breel Embolo almost doubled Monaco’s advantage, striking the post, seconds later it was the Portuguese side that was level thanks to a Caio Henrique error.
The Brazilian’s headed pass was too weak to make its way as far as Radoslaw Majecki and Vangelis Pavlidis snook in to intercept and walk the ball into the net.
Singo sending off the turning point
It was a roller-coaster of emotions for Monaco, who thought they had retaken the lead just seconds later, only for Maghnes Akliouche’s effort to be ruled out for offside before Benfica too saw one of their efforts ruled out by VAR for a marginal offside.
Then came the game-changing moment. Singo, already on a yellow, was shown a second for his involvement in an aerial duel and was sent off. Monaco, however, weren’t just willing to sit back and settle for a draw, and sensing an opportunity, they continued to impose themselves.
They got their reward late on with substitute Soungoutou Magassa latching onto Christian Mawissa’s ball into the box and thumping home his first-ever goal in European competition. But having re-taken the lead, despite their numerical disadvantage, they couldn’t hold on – their heroic efforts ultimately in vain.
Di María continues his fine record against Monaco
Former PSG forward Ángel Di María likes playing against Monaco, and whilst he was restrained for large periods of the encounter, he came to the fore late on, assisting Alexander Bah and then Arthur Cabral as Benfica turned the game on its head in the space of just four minutes. “He was the decisive player in this moment,” reacted Adi Hütter, referencing the influential Di María, who across the course of his career, has registered 11 assists against Monaco, significantly more than against any other club.
“We should have defended our box better and we were punished with two goals at the end of the match when we didn’t defend well as a team. It makes the result even more frustrating because we were leading 2-1. We deserved at least a draw,” added Hütter post-match.
A blow for Monaco’s top 8 chances
It is a result that brings an end to Monaco’s unbeaten run in the Champions League. It – almost certainly – won’t be consequential in their objective to secure a top 24 spot, but it does hamper their chances of finishing in the top eight, which would see them bypass the play-off round of the tournament.
It certainly doesn’t get any easier for Les Monégasques, who still have Arsenal, Aston Villa and Inter Milan to face in this revamped ‘League Phase’ of the competition. “Disappointed” with the result, Monaco can, however, take plenty of heart from another strong display.
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Photo source: AS Monaco