Zenit St Petersburg beat 10-man Benfica 2-0 at the Estadio da Luz to get their Champions League campaign off to a flying start tonight.

Hulk fired the visitors ahead early on, clipping over goalkeeper Artur, who was later sent off for denying Danny a goalscoring opportunity.

Axel Witsel added a second minutes after the dismissal as both goals proved enough for the Russians to kick off their campaign with a fine win.

Below, Sports Mole sorts the heroes from the villains in Lisbon tonight.

© Getty Images

Goal

Artur: Conceded a goal and was sent off in his 18 minutes on the field in a performance that he will want to rapidly forget. (3/10)

Defence

Maxi Pereira: Booked and was fortunate to stay on the field after a coming-together with Danny toward the end of the contest. (5/10)

Luisao: Unlucky not to get himself a goal and a key reason why it was only 2-0. Impressive with centre-half partner Jardel. (7/10)

Jardel: Along with Luisao, made Zenit striker Salmon Rondon feed off scraps, restricting him to one clear-cut opportunity in the whole game. (6/10)

Eliseu: The Portuguese was MIA for the first goal as Hulk, completely free on Zenit's right flank, had plenty of time in which to clip past Artur. (4/10)

Midfield

Eduardo Salvio: Made a fool of Nicolas Lombaerts on a number of occasions with some clever skills and perhaps Benfica's brightest attacking player. (6/10)

Enzo Perez: Came out second best in the midfield battle as Axel Witsel ran amok and bagged a goal for his troubles. (5/10)

Andreas Samaris: Better than centre-midfield partner Perez, but still left a little to be desired in facing Zenit's attack. (6/10)

Nicolas Gaitan: Saw his creative talents negated by right-back Igor Smolnikov and his replacement Aleksandr Anyukov. Never comfortable. (5/10)

Attack

Rodrigo Lima: Missed Benfica's best chance to reduce the arrears in the second half. Expect more from a player with 16 Champions League goals under his belt. (5/10)

Talisca: Sacrificed for substitute goalkeeper Paulo Lopes 18 minutes into his Champions League debut. Hat-trick hero in his last outing, but had little time to make his mark tonight. (4/10)

Substitutes

Paulo Lopes: Conceded just minutes after replacing Artur; got a firm hand to Witsel's header but it was adjudged to have gone over the line. Might have done better. (5/10)

Derley: Replaced the misfiring Lima but the game was as good as lost by the time he arrived. Little impact. (5/10)

Goal

Yury Lodygin: Pulled off two crucial second-half saves from Luisao and Lima to prevent Benfica from getting back into it. Big performance. (8/10)

Defence

Igor Smolnikov: Did not put a foot wrong in his 45-minute stint on the field, before being replaced by Anyukov at half time. (7/10)

Nicolas Lombaerts: Struggled to deal with the tricky Salvio, and inadvertently set up Lima for Benfica's best chance. Might have proved a different story had he scored. (5/10)

Ezequiel Garay: Produced an admirable performance on his return to Estadio da Luz and did well to hold his nerve under something of a hostile reception at times. (7/10)

Domenico Criscito: Did little wrong at the back, but contributed little to nothing in an attacking sense. (5/10)

Midfield

Oleg Shatov: Set up the opening goal with a fine assist for Hulk. (6/10)

Javi Garcia: Might have been required more had it stayed 11 versus 11, but shielded his defence well when necessary. (6/10)

Axel Witsel: Another Benfica old boy that impressed on his return to Lisbon. Scored the second and looked lively throughout the 90 minutes. (7/10)

Attack

Hulk: Star of the show and produced a performance befitting of his nickname. Scored an excellent opener, later hit the post and proved an overall menace for the Benfica defence. Will have a big say in Zenit's group stage. (9/10)

Danny: Would have had a goal if not for Artur's red-card offence on 18 minutes. Also swung in the corner that led to Witsel's header. (7/10)

Salomon Rondon: Isolated as Zenit's focal point and missed the best chance of the game to make it 3-0 in the second half. Didn't vindicate his selection over the tried-and-tested Aleksandr Kerzhakov. (5/10)

Substitutes

Aleksandr Anyukov: Slotted into Smolnikov's right-back position seamlessly at half time and did not put a foot wrong. (6/10)

Andrey Arshavin: Replaced Hulk late on but had little time in which to make a meaningful impact. (5/10)

Written by
Shane Callaghan