Champions League: Monaco-Benfica X-ray

The draw for the Champions League knockout stage play-off decided that Benfica and Monaco would meet again, after their clash in the league phase of the current edition of the competition. The first leg of the tie takes place at 8:00 pm (mainland Portugal time) on Wednesday, February 12, at the Stade Louis II.

Although the history of matches between the eagles and the Monegasques is short, it is favorable to the Benfica players: in a total of three matches, they have won two and drawn one, registering a draw and a win in the Principality.

The most recent encounter, in Monaco, was won by 2-3, on matchday 5 of the league phase of the current Champions League. In the group stage of the 2014/15 Champions League, Benfica won 1-0 at home and drew 0-0 at home.

The 16th and 17th-placed teams in the league phase of the competition will face each other, both having finished with 13 points. By virtue of the better goal difference - a positive balance of four goals (16 scored and 12 conceded), compared to a neutral record (13 goals scored and just as many conceded) - the Benfica players outplayed the Monegasques.

In the eight rounds of the previous stage of the competition, the Eagles earned their points in away wins against Red Star (1-2), Monaco (2-3) and Juventus (0-2), and in home wins and draws against Atlético Madrid (4-0) and Bologna (0-0), respectively.

Monaco, meanwhile, beat Barcelona (2-1), Red Star (5-1) and Aston Villa (1-0) at home, as well as Bologna (0-1) in Italy. The Principality side drew with Dinamo Zagreb (2-2) in Croatia and lost to Arsenal (3-0) and Inter Milan (3-0) as visitors, in addition to the aforementioned defeat to the Reds (2-3).

Comparing the performances of the two teams in the Champions League in the light of UEFA's statistics, Benfica were superior in the total number of shots (105 against 98), as well as in attempts on target (46-36) and blocked shots (34-28). Monaco had more shots off target (34 against 25).

With an advantage in total attacks (325 against 293), the Monegasques also had more corners (37-33) and dribbled more times (119-99).

In terms of passing, the Principality's team was more effective (83% against 81.3%) and had more possession on average (50.8% against 44.3%). The Eagles were more accurate with their crosses (33% against 26.4%), with 33 balls reaching their destination, compared to 28 for their rivals.

From a defensive point of view, Monaco has the highest number of balls recovered in the entire competition (371, compared to 350 for the Reds), but Benfica wins in terms of duels, with a better success rate (45.7% against 40%) and more shots won (63-44).

In goal, Trubin (the tournament's top scorer) made 28 saves and didn't concede a goal in three games, beating Majecki (six games played) and Kohn (two games played), the Monegasque goalkeepers who made a combined 23 saves and kept their net clean in two games.

On an individual level, Pavlidis is the Glorioso's top scorer with five goals, while Minamino, Singo and Akliouche share the same status with the opposition, with two goals. Pavlidis (20) and Akliouche (17) are also the players with the most shots.

Benfica's Di María and Bah (as well as Beste, who has since left the club) recorded two assists, a similar number to Embolo and Kehrer, who are the players with the most passes for goals in both teams.

Otamendi (390) and Kehrer (362) stand out as the players with the most successful passes, and Di María (11) and Akliouche (8) are the authors of the most effective crosses in each team. The Argentinian international (29) is also the eagle with the most dribbles, and on the other side, Ben Seghir (26) leads the way.

At the back, Otamendi is the best ball recoverer (53) and Florentino the winner of the most disputes (16) for Benfica, while Vanderson is the Monaco player with the most balls recovered (53) and duels won (7). Aursnes (91.1) and Vanderson (81.6) are the players who have covered the most kilometers.