Benfica 1 Zenit St Petersburg 0
Jonas struck with a stoppage-time header to end 90 minutes of frustration for Benfica as they beat a cautious Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 at home in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Nicolás Gaitán floated a free-kick into the area and the Brazilian rose to break the deadlock. The Zenit defender Domenico Criscito had been sent off for a second yellow card for the foul which led to the free-kick.
The first half had been an unsightly slog with 16 fouls, seven offsides and four bookings. Benfica came to life in the second half but still struggled to create chances against a tightly-packed, well-drilled Zenit, who were playing their first competitive match since 9 December.
Jonas had the best effort of the first half when the Benfica forward unleashed a shot from the edge of the area but Zenit’s Nicolas Lombaerts just got his head to the ball and his touch forced it centimetres wide of the post.
Zenit had to wait until the 36th minute for their first shot on goal but Hulk, who got little change out of Benfica’s Eliseu, fired a low effort wide from 25 metres.
The Benfica goalkeeper Julio Cesar finally made a save in the 52nd minute when he parried a dangerous shot from Axel Witsel. He also had to stop a header from the Belgian midfielder from the resulting corner.
The hosts nearly went ahead in the 69th minute when Gaitán skipped past a defender but saw his shot stopped at point-blank range by the goalkeeper Yuri Lodygin.
Benfica continued to dominate and Gaitán was foiled again by Lodygin before his team-mate Jardel turned the ball wide after Victor Lindelof headed down Renato Sanches’s cross.
