AS Monaco 2-3 Benfica Player Ratings: Di Maria shines in Benfica’s thrilling comeback win against 10-man French side

Benfica produced a thrilling comeback win in the UEFA Champions League group stage after beating Monaco 3-2 away from home. The hosts drew the first blood 13 minutes into the game after Eliesse Ben Seghir buried home Aleksandr Golovin’s pass. But the game was wide open as Benfica caused more problems for the French giants with their vertical style of play. An error from Caio Henrique led to Vangelis Pavlidis’ equaliser quickly after the break and things went from bad to worse for Monaco after Wifried’s Sango red card around the hour mark.

Nevertheless, Monaco showed great resilience, with substitute Soungoutou Magassa restoring the lead in the 67th minute. But the numbers advantage played into Benfica’s hands as substitutes Arthur Cabral and Zeki Amdouni scored back-to-back powerful headers towards the end to complete the comeback, with Angel Di Maria the provider in both instances.

AS Monaco Player Ratings vs Benfica

Goalkeeper

Radoslaw Majecki: 4/10 – Made a terrific save against Di Maria in the first half but couldn’t do much against all three goals.

Defenders

Caio Henrique: 3/10 – Made a huge blunder attempting a back-pass to Majecki and was rightfully punished by Pavlidis for the equaliser. Was also at fault for Bah’s header, however, VAR saved his blushes

Thilo Kehrer: 5/10 – Bailed out Camara for his error with a vital interception against Pavildis, who could have through on goal. But failed to prevent Amdouni’s header.

Wilfried Sango: 3/10 – Fended off Pavlidis in front of the goal with a scrappy clearance but picked up a second yellow for a needless challenge against the striker, while putting Monaco in a vulnerable position

Vanderson: 6/10 – Fired in a powerful low effort from the right-hand side, stinging the palm of Trubin, but Golovin pounced on the spillage to set up Seghir

Midfielders

Denis Zakaria: 6/10 – Made a sliding clearance in the last line of defence to deny Akturkoglu.

Lamine Camara: 4/10 – Gifted the possession in the middle that led to a dangerous turnover, but luckily no harm was done.

Aleksandr Golovin: 7/10 – Initiated a run from deeper, wriggling his way past the defenders before finding Vanderson in acres of space. He was also present inside the box to pounce on Trubin’s spillage before laying off a pass to Seghir for his strike

Attackers

Eliesse Ben Seghir: 7/10 – Was in the right position inside the box to bury home the opener of Golovin’s square pass.

Maghnes Akliouche: 6/10 – Was a constant threat on the flanks with his exquisite dribbling and ball-carrying and had a goal ruled out by a marginal offside call.

Breel Embolo: 5/10 – Unfortunately hit the woodwork once and had an assist for Akliouche’s goal chalked off for offside.

Substitutes

Soungoutou Magassa: 6/10 – Restored the lead with a precise strike into the bottom left corner.

Christian Mawissa: N/A – Provided the cross for Magassa’s strike

Folarin Balogun: N/A – Was vibrant and made some dangerous runs into the box

George Ilenikhena: N/A

Mohammed Salisu: N/A – Was ball watching for Amdouni’s header

Manager

Adolf Hutter: 4/10 – Despite the early lead, Hutter’s men failed to sustain the possession against a hungry Benfica side. Appeared to have got his substitutions right but a frail defence led to Monaco’s undoing.

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Benfica Player Ratings vs AS Monaco

Goalkeeper

Anatolii Trubin: 5/10 – Made a diving save to deny Vanderson’s strike but was beaten on the rebound by Seghir.

Defenders

Alvaro Fernandez: 6/10 – Had a solid outing, standing out defensively and also going forward. Also linked up well with Akturkoglu.

Tomas Araujo: 5/10 – Should have prevented Mawissa from crossing in the lead-up to Monaco’s second goal

Nicolas Otamendi: 6/10 – Couldn’t stop Magassa’s powerful strike but apart from that looked solid in the defence. His pinpoint long balls put Benfica in some advantageous positions.

Alexander Bah: 5/10 – Had a stunning left-footed volley chalked off by VAR for offside but he could have done better defensively ahead of Monaco’s second goal.

Midfielders

Florentino Luis: 5/10 – Was quite lethargic in the lead-up to the first goal but brought more physicality to the midfield. Hauled off around the hour mark to avoid any further booking.

Fredrik Aursnes: 6/10 – Played some dangerous progressive passes.

Orkun Kokcu: 6/10 – Kokcu’s switches and long balls often disrupted Monaco’s balance.

Attackers

Ange Di Maria: 8/10 – His finishing and athletic prowess may have declined but Di Maria as a playmaker is still one of the best. Provided back-to-back delightful crosses to set up the strikes of Cabral and Amdouni

Kerem Akturkoglu: 7/10 – A terrific performance from the Turk, who kept Monaco’s defenders on the edge of the knife for the entirety with his verticality and lethal crosses.

Vangelis Pavlidis: 7/10 – Looked out of sorts in the first half after failing to capitalise on a couple of good chances but came back recharged after the break. Pounced on Henrique’s error for the equaliser and had a powerful header denied

Substitutes

Arthur Cabral: 6/10 – Powered a great header into the nets to restore the parity

Zeki Amdouni: 6/10 – Netted a leaping header off Di Maria’s cross to seal the win for Benfica.

Leandro Barreiro: N/A

Benjamin Rollheiser: N/A

Manager

Bruno Lage: 7/10 – Despite the early deficit, Bruno Lage’s men persisted with their direct style of play, enjoying a flurry of opportunities. Lage’s decisions to throw two strikers into the pitch worked wonders after Amdouni and Cabral got the job done for Benfica.

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