Benfica have drawn first blood in their Champions League knockout phase playoff tie with Monaco, thanks to Vangelis Pavlidis' strike.

Vangelis Pavlidis scores his fifth goal in three games to give Benfica a 1-0 win away against Monaco in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs.

Benfica took a big step towards the Champions League last 16 when they claimed a 1-0 victory at 10-man Monaco in the first leg of the playoffs on Wednesday.

Benfica drew first blood in their Champions League knockout phase playoff tie with Monaco, thanks to Vangelis Pavlidis' strike.

Monaco face an uphill struggle next week in the second leg of their Champions League play-off after going down 1-0 at home to Benfica .

Soungoutou Magassa (Monaco) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt saved. António Silva (Benfica) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kerem Aktürkoglu with a cross. Substitution, Benfica. Arthur Cabral replaces Ángel Di María because of an injury.

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.

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,