Benfica vs Monaco facts

Benfica return to Lisbon holding a one-goal advantage against Monaco for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-offs.

Vangelis Pavlidis scored the only goal of the first leg after 48 minutes putting Benfica – who also won 3-2 at Monaco on Matchday 5 and have never lost at home to a French club – in pole position in the tie. Monaco ended the first leg with ten men after Al Musrati's 52nd-minute dismissal and must claim a first win in Portugal to extend their European season.

Previous meetings

2014/15 Champions League group stage
Monaco 0-0 Benfica
Benfica 1-0 Monaco
After a goalless draw at the Stade Louis II on Matchday 3 – a game Benfica ended with ten men after Lisandro López's 76th-minute red card – Talisca scored the only goal in Lisbon to give Benfica their only win of the campaign.

2024/25 Champions League league phase
Monaco 2-3 Benfica
Benfica twice came from behind, Pavlidis cancelling out Eliesse Ben Seghir's opener. Monaco's Wilfried Singo was sent off early in the second half and, though his team restored their lead through substitute Soungoutou Magassa, Ángel Di María set up late goals for Arthur Cabral and Zeki Amdouni.

Form guide

Benfica

Record vs French clubs: W19 D10 L9 F48 A36
Home record vs French clubs: W13 D5 L0

Benfica are unbeaten in their 18 home matches against French visitors. They faced Toulouse in last season's UEFA Europa League knockout phase play-offs, winning 2-1 at home and on aggregate, and were victorious by the same scoreline against Marseille in the quarter-final first leg.

A 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022/23 Champions League group stage is the only one of Benfica's last nine home games against Ligue 1 visitors they did not win.

Benfica lost 1-0 at Marseille in last season's Europa League quarter-final second leg and subsequently went out 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate draw. That made Benfica's record in two-legged ties against French clubs W9 L3 and ended a run of five successive aggregate victories.

The 2-1 win in the home first leg against Marseille had made it five games unbeaten against Ligue 1 clubs (W2 D3); the second-leg loss is one of only two in Benfica's last 13 versus French teams (W7 D4).

This is Benfica's 19th appearance in the Champions League proper, and a 14th in the last 15 seasons, reaching successive quarter-finals in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

A 4-0 defeat of Atlético de Madrid on Matchday 2 is Benfica's only success in their last eight home Champions League games; they have lost five, including 1-3 to Feyenoord on Matchday 3 and 4-5 to Barcelona on Matchday 7, a game they led 4-2 with 12 minutes remaining.

Benfica have lost only one of 21 UEFA competition ties after winning the first leg away, most recently beating Club Brugge in the 2022/23 round of 16 (2-0 a, 5-1 h). That includes four ties where the away first leg finished 1-0, the last against AZ Alkmaar in the 2013/14 Europa League quarter-finals (2-0 h).

Benfica's record in five UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L3:
4-1 v Torpedo Moskva, 1977/78 European Cup first round
5-6 v PSV Eindhoven, 1987/88 European Cup final
4-1 v PAOK, 1999/2000 UEFA Cup second round
2-4 v Sevilla, 2013/14 Europa League final
2-4 v Marseille, 2023/24 Europa League quarter-final

Monaco

Record vs Portuguese clubs: W2 D3 L8 F12 A25
Away record vs Portuguese clubs: W0 D1 L4

Before losing to Benfica this season Monaco had last faced a team from Portugal in the 2021/22 Europa League round of 16, going out 1-3 on aggregate against Braga (0-2 a, 1-1 h).

Monaco are now nine matches without a win against Portuguese teams (D2 L7), since a 3-2 home victory against Sporting CP in the 1997/98 Champions League group stage.

The loss at Braga made it four successive defeats – three of them without scoring – in Portugal.

The French side beat Belenenses 4-1 on aggregate in the 1989/90 European Cup Winners' Cup first round, the 2022 defeat by Braga their only other two-legged contest against a team from Portugal.

Monaco lost 3-0 to Porto in the 2004 Champions League final at the Arena AufSchalke in Germany.

This is Monaco's tenth appearance in the Champions League proper, a first since 2018/19 and the first time they have reached the knockout stage since 2016/17, when they went on to the semi-finals.

A 1-0 win at Bologna on Matchday 4 this season – which followed a 2-2 Matchday 2 draw at GNK Dinamo and preceded 3-0 losses at Arsenal and Inter – is one of five in Les Monégasques' last 22 away European matches (D8 L9) and a third in the last eight (D2 L3).

Monaco have lost all seven UEFA competition ties in which they were defeated in the home first leg, most recently against Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2021/22 Champions League qualifying play-offs (0-1 h, 2-2 a aet) – the third tie in which they were beaten 0-1 in the home first leg.

Monaco's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L1:
3-1 v Real Valladolid, 1989/90 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final
3-5 v Bayer Leverkusen, 2022/23 Conference League knockout phase play-offs

Links and trivia

Have played in France:
Florentino (Monaco 2020/21 loan)
Renato Sanches (LOSC Lille 2019–22, Paris Saint-Germain 2022/23)
Ángel Di María (Paris Saint-Germain 2015–22)

Di María's record against Monaco with Paris was W11 D2 L3 with six goals and eight assists. He scored one and set up two in a 4-1 victory in the 2017 Coupe de la Ligue final and was also on target in Paris' 3-0 final victory 12 months later.

Has played in Portugal:
Al Musrati (Vitória SC 2016–19, Rio Ave 2020 loan, Braga 2020–24)

Have played together:
Radosław Majecki, Caio Henrique, Aleksandr Golovin, Eliot Matazo, Krépin Diatta & Florentino (Monaco 2020/21)
Thilo Kehrer & Ángel Di María (Paris Saint-Germain 2018–22)
Denis Zakaria & Ángel Di María (Juventus 2022)
Wilfried Singo & Andrea Belotti (Torino 2018–22)

Belotti scored past Philipp Kohn in Roma's 2-0 victory against Salzburg in the 2022/23 Europa League knockout phase play-off second leg.

International team-mates:
Philipp Kohn, Denis Zakaria, Breel Embolo & Zeki Amdouni (Switzerland)

Latest news

Benfica

On Saturday a first Benfica goal from January signing Bruma – who is not in the club's Champions League squad – earned a 1-0 win at Santa Clara.

The Eagles have won their last five games in all competitions.

A second-half substitute on Saturday, Vangelis Pavlidis has eight in his last seven games in all competitions. He is Benfica's top scorer this season on 15 goals, one more than Ángel Di María.

Benfica have conceded 18 goals in their 22 league matches – ten of those in their last seven games.

Florentino was taken off at half-time on Saturday with a thigh injury.

Fredrik Aursnes (knee), Di María (thigh) and Tomás Araújo (groin) missed Saturday's win with injuries suffered at Monaco.

Alexander Bah and Manu Silva are expected to miss the rest of the season having both suffered knee injuries against Moreirense on 8 February.

Out since 24 August with a dislocated shoulder, striker Tiago Gouveia underwent knee surgery in January.

Having been absent between 10 November and 4 January with a thigh muscle injury, Renato Sanches has since suffered another thigh problem.

Monaco

Monaco were 7-1 winners at home to Nantes on Saturday, their biggest victory of the season and only their sixth in their last 18 matches (D3 L9).

January signing Mika Biereth scored a 21-minute hat-trick, making it seven goals in his first five Ligue 1 matches – a new club record.

George Ilenikhena, who had not played since 5 January with a groin injury, came on to score two late goals.

Monaco have lost three of their last five games in all competitions (W2).

Biereth also scored a nine-minute hat-trick in a 4-2 victory at home to Auxerre on 1 February.

Aleksandr Golovin (groin) and Soungoutou Magassa (facial) both sat out Saturday's win.

Wilfried Singo (hamstring) has missed the last four games.

Folarin Balogun has been out since 1 December after shoulder surgery.