Vangelis Pavlidis' clever finish put Benfica 1-0 to the good in its Champions League knockout phase playoff against 10-man Monaco.

The Greece striker scored the only goal of the first leg at Stade Louis II, where the hosts saw Al Musrati dismissed for two bookable offences.

Both sides went close during a goalless first half, with Maghnes Akliouche and Alvaro Carreras going the closest to scoring.

However, the deadlock was broken within three minutes of the restart, as Pavlidis delicately lifted the ball over Monaco goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki from a tight angle.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men four minutes later with Musrati shown a second yellow card for dissent.

Benfica looked to capitalise on its numerical advantage as Pavlidis was denied by Majecki, but the single goal was enough to secure an advantage ahead of next week's second leg in Lisbon.