Portuguese side Benfica went into their Champions League clash with AS Monaco knowing that only three points would be good enough to keep their hopes of qualifying from Group C alive.
Despite fading after an encouraging start, the Eagles capitalised on a moment of poor defending from Monaco to grab a slender 1-0 win, thanks to some adroit positioning and finishing from Brazilian playmaker Talisca.
Here, Sports Mole rates all of the players involved in the encounter at the Estadio da Luz.
BENFICA
Goal
Julio Cesar: Keeper was fantastic all night and kept his side in the contest. Made three or four standout saves to keep Monaco at bay. (9/10)
Defence
Maxi Pereira: Pressed well and got forward when required. Did look a little flustered when attacked at pace by Ocampos. (6/10)
Luisao: Looked strong at the heart of defence and did well to limit the threat of the giant Lacina Traore. (7/10)
Jardel: Partnered well with Luisao to nullify the threat of Traore. Centre-back also got forward when needed and won a number of challenges in the opposing box. (7/10)
Andre Almeida: Full-back had a tough night on home soil. Found it difficult to contain Yannick Ferreira Carrasco and was done for both pace and strength by the young Belgian. (5/10)
Midfield
Eduardo Salvio: Worked hard to carve out moves from the centre of the pitch. Also combined well with Nicolas Gaitan going forward. (7/10)
Enzo Perez: Started brightly but faded in the second half. His renowned pressing came in handy on the flanks, but he failed to influence the game going forward. (6/10)
Andreas Samaris: Worked neatly in the middle of the pitch, but much like Perez he failed to influence proceedings in the opposing half. Will need to look at his contribution in attack if Benfica are to progress into the knockout stages. (6/10)
Nicolas Gaitan: Opened the game in an enterprising way and looked dangerous on the edge of the box. Made a number of troublesome runs, but failed to find the target when required. The playmaker had a lot of the ball although he failed to create the chances required. (6/10)
Talisca: Standout performance and second only to Cesar. The Brazilian playmaker was bright in both halves and did all he could to push his side forward. Showed great positioning and composure to steal in at the back post and win the game for his side. (9/10)
Attack
Derley: Rather anonymous throughout the game. Relied heavily on the proximity of other players. Partially to blame for the lack of chances created by Benfica. (6/10)
Substitutes
Lima: The most positive substitute to be introduced to the game. Troubled Monaco down the right wing and showed intelligence to win a number of tactical free kicks in the closing stages. (8/10)
Dias Correia: Did very little after being introduced, but hardly had time to influence the encounter to any great extent. (6/10)
Cristante: Came on to add some strength to a tired midfield. Helped to break up the play and cement Benfica's victory. (7/10)
AS MONACO
Goal
Danijel Subasic: Made a good save early on when Benfica showed signs of promise. However, he could have shown more command of his box by coming out to collect the cross that would eventually lead to the winning goal. (6/10)
Defence
Fabinho: Solid defensively, but failed to provide much support when going down the right flank. Might have provided more experienced advice to help out on the corner his side conceded from. (6/10)
Ricardo Carvalho: Was solid at the back and provided a number of timely interceptions to deny Benfica in the first half. Should have been better at organising the defence when Talisca scored, though. (6/10)
Andrea Raggi: Arguably Monaco's best defender on the night. Made a brilliant slide tackle to deny Gaitan during the first half. Won a number of key headers. Should have also done better to prevent the goal. (7/10)
Layvin Kurzawa: Looked strong going forward and showed determination to win the ball back on several occasions. He may have been at fault for the goal, however, given that the back post was left unmanned as his side conceded. (6/10)
Midfield
Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco: A nuisance for the whole game. Had Almeida running scared throughout the encounter. Fast and strong, proved to be far too much for the opposing full-back. (8/10)
Jeremy Toulalan: Not the best night from the experienced midfielder. Gave away a number of needless fouls and looked off the pace in the centre of pitch. Often sat back as part of a back five, probably due to tiredness. (6/10)
Geoffrey Kondogbia: Benfica's midfield made Kondogbia look a little lost in the first half of the game. He came back into things during the second half and managed to break up the midfield play. (6/10)
Lucas Ocampos: Failed to provide an outlet down the left and was restricted mainly to defensive duties. Did show some class in the second half to create a goalscoring opportunity, but was overshadowed by his fellow winger Ferreira-Carrasco. (6/10)
Joao Moutinho: Part of the reason Monaco were so lacklustre going forward. The midfielder failed to link up with Traore and thus left the striker looking like an isolated figure. Showed a few bits of neat skill, but not much substance to lead his team into attacks. (6/10)
Attack
Lacina Traore: Wasn't the best of nights for the young frontman. Failed to hold up the ball and bring his teammates into play. Went down far too easily under the tackles of Raggi and Carvalho too. (5/10)
Substitutes
Nabil Dirar: Monaco's most impressive substitute. Looked to take the ball forward at every opportunity and produced a standout run to find Ferreira-Carrasco free at the back post. Might have been a turning point in the game had the receiving winger not handled the ball. (7/10)
Valere Germain: Did little to impact the way the fixture was heading after the goal from Talisca. Put himself about up front, though he lacked the quality to carve out any clear-cut chances. (6/10)
Anthony Martial: Couldn't get into the swing of things and looked off the pace following his introduction. Was booked too for an unnecessary tackle late on in the game. (6/10)
Christopher Dodd
