Spartak

3.50

• 
  19

  1

  3.50

  Artem Rebrov

  Marking his European debut, Spartak's third-choice goalkeeper had had little to do before saving Matic's volley well with his feet on the half-hour mark. Was left exposed when Lima headed home at the near post but dealt brilliantly with everything else Benfica threw at him.

• 
  20

  2

  4.00

  Nicolás Pareja

  Formed a very solid central defensive partnership with Suchy that frustrated Benfica's pacy, fleet-footed attacking triumvirate. The highlight of his contribution was a vital, last-gasp challenge which prevented Lima from making it 2-2 late on.

• 
  18

  3

  3.50

  Marek Suchy

  A real rock at the back for the home side, making numerous well-timed challenges during a very disciplined display, though the Czech was booked for unceremoniously pulling Lima down the one time he was caught out of position.

• 
  19

  3

  4.00

  Evgeniy Makeev

  Defensively sound and also got forward well throughout the first half, putting over one cross midway through the first period that caused absolute chaos in the Benfica box. Repeated the feat just before the interval and this time around Jardel put through his own net. Very nearly undid all his good work, though, with a dreadful attempted header back to Rebrov.

• 
  26

  2

  4.00

  Rafael Carioca Top of the Match

  Put the home side 1-0 up in fine style, coolly slotting home after storming forward in support of - and then beyond - Jurado. Full of running, he also used the ball intelligently throughout and was also involved in the build-up to the own goal.

• 
  19

  2

  3.50

  Jurado

  Showed wonderful poise and patience in laying on the opener for Rafael Carioca with the most sublimely weighted and well-timed pass into the path of the Brazilian. The Spaniard's movement was good, regularly drifting out to the left to good effect, though his final ball did sometimes let him down.

• 
  20

  2

  3.00

  Kim Källström

  Always strong in the tackle, the Swede put in a real shift for Spartak in the middle of the park, playing a key role in his side's dominance of possession. Eventually ran out of steam with 10 minutes to go.

• 
  16

  1

  3.50

  Dmitriy Kombarov

  Very nearly made it 2-1 himself with a volley that was well saved by Artur, but ultimately played a key role in the goal which put Spartak ahead by slipping Makeev in behind the Benfica defence with a terrific slide-rule pass.

• 
  17

  4

  3.50

  Diniyar Bilyaletdinov

  Almost opened the scoring inside a minute with a towering header, after a splendidly-timed run into the area, and then made amends for heading straight at Artur by making the midfield surge which led to Rafael Carioca netting. Also not afraid to get back when required.

• 
  34

  3

  3.50

  Zhano Ananidze

  The 20-year-old Georgian was not in the least bit overawed by the occasion, featuring prominently during an opening half in which he demonstrated terrific footwork and vision, as evidenced by the wonderful cross that Ari criminally failed to convert. Set the Brazilian up for another great chance just before he was withdrawn to a deserved round of applause just before the hour.

• 
  24

  0

  3.50

  Ari

  Very lively throughout, swinging over the wonderfully inviting cross from which Bilyaletdinov probably should have broken the deadlock before then making the deft lay-off which put Jurado away. However, he really should have scored after being picked out by Ananidze at the back post, the Brazilian volleying against the bar. It was, though, his presence that pressurised Jardel into putting through his own goal.

Substitutions

• 
  7

  2

  Sergey Bryzgalov

  Took over from Kallstrom with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.

• 
  9

  4

  2.50

  Kirill Kombarov

  Replaced Ananidze with just over 30 minutes remaining, but did not offer the same energy or attacking threat as the youngster.

• 
  10

  2

  Welliton

  Thrown on in place of Bilyaletdinov for the final 15 minutes of so.

Benfica

2.62

• 
  5

  3

  3.00

  Artur

  Did very little wrong all game. Saved well from Bilyaletdinov inside the opening minute but was given no chance by either Rafael Carioca or his own centre-half Jardel for the Spartak goals.

• 
  1

  6

  2.50

  Maxi Pereira

  Offered nothing going forward as he had his hands full trying to contain the wandering Jurado and Ananidze. Was by no means run ragged but was given a rough ride all the same.

• 
  3

  3

  2.50

  Ezequiel Garay

  Nowhere near as vulnerable as his partner at the centre of the Benfica backline but the Argentine still regularly suffered at the hands of Spartak's forwards.

• 
  2

  6

  2.00

  L. Melgarejo

  The Paraguayan was always looking to get forward but his delivery often left a lot to be desired, and he was also caught out defensively on a number of occasions. Indeed, Makeev repeatedly got in behind him, most crucially for the goal which decided the game.

• 
  0

  12

  2.00

  Jardel Nivaldo Vieira Flop of the Match

  Came to his side's rescue on a number of occasions during a difficult opening half hour for the visitors, but it was ultimately his fault that Benfica went home empty-handed, the Brazilian making a right mess of trying to deal with Makeev's cross just before the break.

• 
  5

  4

  3.00

  Toto Salvio

  The Argentine looked dangerous any time he was given the opportunity to run at players and it was his most inviting cross which Lima headed home to level matters. However, he later squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to level matters after pouncing on Makeev's mistake.

• 
  5

  8

  2.00

  Nemanja Matić

  The Serbian takes a huge amount of blame for the opening goal after gifting possession straight to Bilyaletdinov with the visitors on the front foot. Still, had it not been for his intervention, Jurado would most likely have made it 2-0 moments later.

• 
  2

  5

  2.50

  Enzo Nicolás Pérez

  A pretty ineffective display from the Argentine, who failed to get a grip on the game in midfield, though he was not alone in that regard, in fairness.

• 
  1

  6

  2.50

  Bruno César

  Looked busy enough and saw plenty of possession. However, there was no real end product, the Brazilian only occasionally finding a team-mate in a dangerous area. Lasted 64 minutes before being hauled off.

• 
  6

  3

  3.50

  Lima

  The Brazilian was forced to live off scraps for most of the opening half hour but he finished with aplomb when given his first sniff of goal, nodding in Salvio's cross after losing his marker with a clever near-post run. Did not get another ball of such quality, though.

• 
  2

  4

  2.50

  Rodrigo

  The Spaniard blazed just over the bar with his first sight of goal 14 minutes in but only showed ever so brief glimpses of what he can do thereafter. Unsurprisingly replaced during the second period.

Substitutions

• 
  7

  2

  3.00

  Osvaldo Nicolás Fabián Gaitán

  Surprisingly left on the bench, Gaitan was thrown on midway through the second half in place of Bruno Cesar and looked far more threatening than the man he'd replaced.

• 
  10

  2

  3.00

  Ó. Cardozo

  Came on for Rodrigo with just over 25 minutes remaining and his presence definitely unsettled Spartak in the closing stages.

• 
  5

  3

  Ola John

  Only saw a couple of minutes at the end after replacing Matic.