European Golden Shoe candidate shines for Benfica

Striker Jonas scored to help the Portuguese team beat Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.

Jonas took off his shirt to celebrate scoring. Photo: Reuters.

Benfica had to wait until injury time to earn a 1-0 win over the Russians. The striker, who has been in sensational form this season, headed past goalkeeper Lodygin after a Nicolas Gaitan cross. It was a double misfortune for Zenit as Gaitan's free kick came after defender Criscito had been sent off for a second yellow card for a foul on Andre Almeida.

For striker Jonas, this is his 25th goal of the season. The Brazilian player has exploded at the age of 31, on the other side of his career. Jonas currently has 23 goals in the Portuguese Championship, and is second with Luis Suarez in the race for the European Golden Shoe this season. He is currently only one goal behind the leader Higuain.

The 1-0 win gives Benfica a huge advantage ahead of their trip to Russia on March 9. Zenit, meanwhile, need to score at home and avoid conceding.

Zenit visited Portugal for their first competitive game since December 9th. The long winter break had left Villas-Boas’s side still struggling to get back to their best form. The Russians played a disjointed game, mainly defensively, and failed to create any real danger.

Benfica controlled the game and attacked for most of the time. They could have opened the scoring if Gaitan had capitalized on a one-on-one in the 69th minute. The Argentine midfielder fired a powerful shot that went straight at goalkeeper Lodygin.

In the second leg, there wasFour players from both teams were suspended. Criscito received a red card, while teammate Javi Garcia and Benfica duo Almedia and Jardel all received yellow cards.

According to VNE