AS Monaco went into their final Group C fixture of the Champions League needing just a draw with Zenit St Petersburg to secure progression into the knockout stages, while the visitors required all three points.
Leonardo Jardim's men failed to offer much in the opening 45 minutes, with Zenit controlling the half but failing to do anything with the ball in the final third.
The second period started just as turgidly as the first, only for Monaco to turn on the heat when required, and they took the lead when Aymen Abdennour headed in from a free kick.
The French side confirmed their passage into the next stage with just a few minutes to play when full-back Fabinho broke forward to lash an unstoppable shot past keeper Yuri Lodigin.
Find out how all of the action developed by reading our minute-by-minute coverage below.
Good evening everyone and welcome to our coverage as AS Monaco battle it out with travelling Zenit St Petersburg for a spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Tonight's French hosts need only a draw to qualify, while Zenit will need to achieve a win on the road if they're to go through with Bayer Leverkusen into the next round.
We're all anticipating a nerve-jangling night at the Stade Louis II, that's for sure. Zenit need all three points tonight to gain progress. It could turn out to be a tough ask for Andre Villas-Boas and his men, with Zenit so far only achieving one win on French soil in the club's history.
That said, Monaco have hardly been the most prolific of teams in the tournament this campaign. As it stands, Leonardo Jardim's men have only scored two goals in the entire competition. If they manage to scrape through tonight having not added to that total it would make Champions League history.
Another intriguing variable this evening is that fact that either of these teams could still top Group C. If Monaco win and Leverkusen don't, the French side will move into top spot, while a draw and a Leverkusen loss sees the same result. Meanwhile, a Zenit win and a defeat for Bayer would then see Villas-Boas and his side take first position.
Both teams are likely to be suffering from absences from their starting XIs and squads. At the moment, Monaco will certainly be missing both Ricardo Carvalho and Layvin Kurzawa. We also know that Geoffrey Kondogbia and Andrea Raggi are struggling to prove their fitness ahead of the match.
For Zenit, AVB has almost his entire squad to pick from. However, they are going to be missing key target man Aleksandr Kerzhakov, who is missing with a foot problem.
These sides played out a goalless 0-0 draw when they met in the group two months ago. History does tend to favour Monaco when up against Russian opponents in European competitions, with last season's Ligue 1 runners-up having lost one and won two on home soil.
Some team news for you now...
AS MONACO STARTING XI: Subasic; Fabinho, Abdennour, Wallace, Raggi, Dirar, Joao Moutinho, Bakayoko, Toulalan, Berbatov, Ferreira-Carrasco
AS MONACO SUBSTITUTES: Stekelenburg, Bernardo Silva, Thiam, Ocampos, Germain, Traore, Martial
ZENIT ST PETERSBURG STARTING XI: Lodygin, Criscito, Lombaerts, Smolnikov, Garay, Fayzulin, Javi García, Witsel, Danny, Hulk, Rondon
ZENIT ST PETERSBURG SUBSTITUTES: Malafeev, Anyukov, Luis Neto, Ryazantsev, Shatov, Tymoshchuk, Arshavin
So Dimitar Berbatov is to lead his side's attacking line tonight, with some attacking support provided by Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco. Some good news for the hosts in defence too, with Raggi making the starting XI. No sign of Kondogbia, however. The French side will be bolstered by the experience of Jeremy Toulalan, while Joao Moutinho will look to link the midfield and attack when needed.
Another interesting plot here is that Wallace makes only his second Champions League appearance in central defence, leaving Toulalan to run the middle of the park.
No real shocks from travelling Zenit, though. They've got both Hulk and Salomon Rondon up top, with the likes of Axel Witsel and Danny providing some creativity from midfield. The visitors also have plenty of European tournament experience on the bench too, with the likes of Andrey Arshavin and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk expected to feature at some point.
Zenit will have to be wary of Monaco frontman Berbatov given his fantastic run of form since joining the club. As it stands, the former Manchester United striker has 14 goals and nine assists in 31 competitive outings after moving to the Ligue 1 outfit last January.
Zenit will know that a victory is still possible tonight. Monaco have hardly been at their sparkling best in either Europe or in Ligue 1. Monaco have managed just seven wins in 22 games in all competitions this season, with Jardim's men holding 26 points after 17 domestic games this season - that's 12 fewer than at the same stage last term.
The visitors to the Stade Louis II have conceded only once in their last five games. Despite going on a good unbeaten run early on in the season, Zenit have now lost five of their last 11 matches.
Both coaches realise how big a fixture tonight's game is. Here's Monaco coach Jardim speaking to reporters yesterday:
"Dimitar Berbatov is in good form and tomorrow he will help us win the game. In August nobody saw us getting through and now we go into matchday six able to even win the group. Playing in the Champions League is very important and tomorrow is the most important game of the year."
Villas-Boas has also been speaking about his side's chances, too:
"Monaco are in good form. They won at Leverkusen which is difficult to do. They kept the ball well. We will have to play cleverly. It is our last game before the winter break, but we have one last effort to make tomorrow. Our ambition is to go through."
Despite the importance of this game, some of the players out there will have to be careful as they look to remain in contention for the latter stages of the tournament. For Monaco, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco and Jeremy Toulalan are both a booking away from suspension. As for Zenit, Domenico Criscito, Hulk and Javi García will also be looking to keep away from the referee's book.
Zenit are arguably into slightly better form than Monaco, with the Russians achieving four wins in their last six games in all competitions. Monaco have won three of their last six.
The game's first goal is going to be crucial. Both sides may look to force it given that they both realistically need at least one goal to be safe. An opener for Monaco would mean that they'd have to concede at least two on home soil to be knocked out of the competition. Meanwhile, Zenit can't afford not to score. If it's goalless, they're gone...
We've got 15 minutes until kickoff at the Stade Louis II and we're gearing up for what is set to be an explosive night down in the south of France. I've got a feeling Zenit might pinch this. They've got the explosive nature of Hulk, with Monaco looking ragged in their Champions League games of late.
Remember no team has ever qualified for the knockout stages scoring less than three goals. Monaco currently have two under their name and I feel that they might need to add to that to ensure progress. It's a huge night for Berbatov and he'll surely need some help from Ferreira-Carrasco too.
The players have been out warming up ahead of the game. Here's a shot from a little earlier in the evening:
Zenit will need to get their shooting boots on. At the moment no Zenit player has scored more than once in this season's Champions League. Hulk, Danny, Witsel and Rondon have scored just one goal each.
However, the Russians have also been boosted by a decent defensive record. They've conceded only once in their last five games in all competitions.
The players are in the tunnel as we await the start of this evening's spectacle. The Stade Louis II is getting rather vocal already.
Here they emerge as the stadium goes into overdrive. Red and white flags everywhere. More confetti than I've seen in a long time too. Picture poses for the players who lineup alongside each other for a rendition of Tony Britten and G F Handel's European anthem.
Quickly time for my prediction. I'm saying 2-1 to the visitors. Zenit to go through!
Monaco get us underway. Kicking from left to right in their red and white home strip. Zenit playing in blue - their keeper's wearing a t-shirt!
Some neat early passes from the hosts get them nowhere so they revert to a lump forward that gives possession to the visitors. Monaco claim it back though and shift it across to the right flank before they're dispossessed.
Danny seeks an early opening as he's given far too much space in midfield. He pings one in behind the defence looking for the run of Rondon, but his pass is overhit.
Monaco get their first few touches together promisingly as they advance down the left. The ball is fed out to Fabinho down the right flank, with his cross finding nobody in the box.
Zenit don't look too over-roared in the early stages. They haven't put too much together going forward though. Hulk looks to do it all by himself in the middle and he's eventually upended and Monaco win it back. Silly play from the Zenit man, really.
Wonderful stuff from Ferreira-Carrasco as he jinks down the left wing. He shows great pace and skill to beat two men, but eventually loses out as there's nobody up in support. Partly why Monaco have scored so few goals I think.
YELLOW CARD! Lombaerts picks up a needless yellow for tugging on Moutinho's shirt down in the bottom right corner of the pitch.
Hulk wins back possession on the halfway line, though there's not much in the way of support. The forward paces forwards beating his marker and then another but he can't quite find the quality to slip a ball in behind for Rondon.
Fantastic defending from Wallace. The centre-back gets across to make a block on Rondon who turns and shoots at pace just outside of the six-yard area having collected the ball from Smolnikov's cross.
Zenit enjoying more of the ball now. This time they switch it to the left flank where Criscito has time and space. However, his cross fails to beat the first Monaco defender who clears with ease.
Berbatov thinks he's in as he brings the ball down out of the air from Raggi's switch across the pitch only for the lineman to raise his flag. Zenit then move down the other end and there's a scuffle inside the box. Monaco manage to clear, but only as far as Criscito and Zenit continue to move the ball around in short passes.
Monaco are already looking short of ideas in the Zenit end. Berbatov is having to drop deep, leaving nobody up front. Bakayoko collects the ball from the striker's knockdown and looks to find Ferreira-Carrasco, but he puts too much on it and the ball goes out for a throw.
Very little to report so far in this fixture. Zenit have looked the more likely to create something of note. Monaco have passed it fine, however they're looking devoid of creativity in the final third.
It appears that Monaco may be adopting the counter attack here. Not the most interesting for spectators and it's perhaps a little dangerous if they do end up conceding. Zenit swing in a free kick that looks headed for the path of Rondon, however he can't quite reach it and the ball flies through to a thankful Subasic in the AS goal.
YELLOW CARD! Raggi goes into the book this time as he leaves his leg out and Smolnikov catches it. That looked like an accident really.
The resulting free kick is in a dangerous position just outside the right-hand side of the box. Hulk swings it in with pace, leaving Subasic to make a good punch to clear.
Monaco can't seem to get a foothold in the game. Moutinho has been a bystander so far and he'll need to get his foot on the ball a little more.
More progress for the visitors now and Hulk shows good feet to fire in an effort, which rebounds out to Danny on the left side of the box. He crosses in for Rondon, but Monaco scramble the ball away for a corner.
Monaco show their lack of creative prowess again as they hold the ball on the edge of the Zenit area. There's lots of tussling and short exchanges though nothing good enough to put somebody in behind the defence. Toulalan then grabs the ball and makes a break for it across the box, only to fire his shot wide of the target.
SAVE! Finally, something to get excited about. Zenit swing in a corner and Lombaerts climbs highest to meet the ball with his head. The header is targeted towards the bottom corner, but Subasic reads it all the way and collects with ease. At least we've had something on target.
At the moment Monaco are going through but there's no way the game is going to stay like this, surely? Both managers will have strong words with their players at half time. It's like neither side is particularly interest in this fixture. Zenit have a good chance to swing in a free kick, leaving Danny to send a ball straight over everyone and straight into the arms of Subasic.
Toulalan makes a great run from the back to bring the ball forwards for his team. Monaco work it down into the right corner of the pitch where Dirar wins a corner.
Moutinho swings it towards the near post but Garay is there to clear with his head. Toulalan picks up the loose ball before he is tackled by Hulk and Zenit surprisingly win the throw-in too.
HALF TIME: AS MONACO 0-0 ZENIT ST PETERSBURG
Well, perhaps I talked this game up far too much before it got underway. It's been thoroughly disappointing so far. Zenit have been the better of the two teams, though they haven't had the quality to carve out much of note. Monaco, meanwhile, have played like a side preparing for their Christmas holidays. They haven't been able to string more than five passes together and they've failed to get up and support Berbatov, who has looked an isolated figure in attack.
It seems like a moment of brilliance will probably decide this game, and Zenit have arguably more quality to do such a thing.
Monaco have looked to absorb Zenit and hit them on the counter, but that's a pretty risky strategy given that one goal could win this fixture for the Russian side. Jardim might well have a few words with his team at the break. I think they should look to get themselves in front to eradicate any possibility of a goal-defeat.
The stats show Zenit's arguable dominance. They've had two shots on target compared to Monaco's blank sheet. St Petersburg have held 63% of the ball and orchestrated 26 dangerous attacks compared to Monaco's measly eight.
The away side have also completed many more passes than their opponents. Zenit have registered 258 against Monaco's 107.
I'm still backing Zenit to get the win here. Monaco will need to improve greatly if they're to grab a goal or even hold out for the required draw as a minimum.
The players are back out on the pitch in Monte Carlo. Zenit are preparing to get us back underway at the Stade Louis II stadium.
Off we go then... The visitors getting the ball moving in blue. It's lobbed straight forward into the path of Hulk, however Wallace steps forward to win the aerial ball.
Bright from Zenit early on. The ball is lumped into Rondon and he brings it down with a neat touch to lay off the on-rushing Witsel. However, Abdennour steps up just in time to clear the danger.
Dirar has the ball out wide for the hosts and he swings in a teasing delivery. Ferreira-Carrasco is on the end of it, but he doesn't get enough pace, power or accuracy to find the target, let alone trouble Lodygin in the Zenit net.
The scrappy nature of the first half returns as Garcia brings down Berbatov as he looks to bring the ball out of the air. The longer this goes on the better Zenit may feel, they only really need one goal with Monaco playing like this.
CLOSE! Monaco are starting to live a little more dangerously. Hulk sends in the free kick with enough bend to confuse the hosts' defence. Three Zenit players gamble but none of them can meet it, leaving the ball to scramble through to Subasic who has to react late to collect with both hands.
CLOSE! Monaco almost go ahead with their first chance of the game. Toulalan pings in a great ball in behind for Ferreira-Carrasco, who holds it up long enough to square for Berbatov. The striker tries first time with the outside of his boot, however the shot takes a deflection and loops high and wide for a corner.
Zenit offer something back as Danny crosses into the middle of the box, leaving Abdennour to clear with his head. Hulk then takes the ball down the right channel before cutting inside where his cross is cleared at his near post.
SUBSTITUTION: Berbatov looks a little jaded, or maybe injured, and he's replaced by youngster Anthony Martial. He's got bags of pace to offer and will bring something different to the remaining 35 minutes.
Martial shows his class early on with a neat ball in behind to find Dirar, however his cross flies across the face of goal without a Monaco body in sight.
YELLOW CARD! You sense that Monaco are starting to realise how tricky this situation could become. They've started to throw themselves into tackles and press with a little more intensity. Moutinho shows good feet just outside of the Zenit box and he's brought down by Faizulin, who's carded for his challenge.
GOAL! AS MONACO 1-0 ZENIT ST PETERSBURG (AYMEN ABDENNOUR)
Monaco grab the goal they need and it's now looking extremely likely they'll progress. It comes from the free kick as Ferreira-Carrasco swings in a delightful ball that evades everyone but Abdennour, who beats his marker at the back post to head past Lodygin.
Weird, really. Was this the tactic all along? Surely not, they've shown no intent up until the last few minutes and they go and grab the goal they've really needed from the beginning of the game.
CLOSE! It's nearly a carbon copy of the first goal as Ferreira-Carrasco swings in another for an unmarked Abdennour, but Rondon is there to clear. Raggi thinks he's got the ball in the net having been left free in behind the defence, but he's flagged for offside.
Zenit win a free kick in a dangerous position from about 35 yards as a scuffle breaks out, Hulk looks to line himself up for the shot... Close! It's got some pace and whip on it as it clears the wall, but it doesn't have enough on it to cause it to come back down, with the ball flying just over the crossbar.
Ferreira-Carrasco is really producing the goods now as he looks to push his side further into the lead. He gets the beating of the full-back and it looks like he wins a corner, only for the referee to flag for a goal kick. He's not pleased...
Great work from Abdennour to make a last ditch tackle. Zenit move the ball down the left and it makes its way into the path of Rondon in the centre of the box. The goal-scorer is having none of it though as he reads the game to perfection to nip across and steal the ball away with a standout sliding tackle.
Lodygin makes a terrible decision to rush out to try and claim the ball. He doesn't quite get to it as the ball is fed out to Dirar. The goalkeeper scrambles back just in time, leaving the midfielder to try a curled effort that flies wide of the post.
Monaco give away a needless corner with Danny swinging the ball into the area. Wallace makes it across to make the clearance, but he swipes at it and the ball balloons away for a corner. Thankfully for the hosts, nothing comes of it with Abdennour clearing.
Ferreira-Carrasco brings it forward for the hosts who are looking confident after the goal. Martial breaks out to the right and looks to run at the defence. The youngster sees Dirar peeling away to the right, but Lombaerts reads well to step in and intercept the pass across the face of the box.
Hmm... Ferreira-Carrasco should maybe have a penalty. The attacker shows great skill to beat his man down the left flank before forcing his way into the box, he looks to get the beating of the defender and goes down under the challenge of Javi García. The referee has a great view and decides to wave it on. Replays show it was a stonewall spot kick, however!
More intelligent play from the midfielder this time as he takes the ball forward in an effort to drag out time. He gets past the tackle of Garcia again, who throws him to the floor with another ugly challenge, but still manages to escape without a yellow card.
CLOSE! Great one-two between Raggi and Martial, and I have no idea why the defender is this far forward. Martial brings it towards the edge of the area, with the centre-back making a run in behind the defence. The young forward finds the defender, who squares it back into his path with just a little too much on it, allowing Zenit to clear.
GOAL! AS MONACO 2-0 ZENIT ST PETERSBURG (FABINHO)
What on earth is the full-back doing so far forward? Fabinho shows great determination to charge onto a pass in between the two centre-backs. He lays it off and pulls away to the left, where he is picked out with a neat pass into space from Joao Moutinho. He collects the ball and opens up to lash home with a striker's finish straight underneath the keeper. Fantastic effort!
SUBSTITUTION: Monaco wasting some time here as Lucas Ocampos comes on...
FULL TIME: AS MONACO 2-0 ZENIT ST PETERSBURG
Monaco confirm their progression into the knockout stages of the Champions League! They failed to offer up anything in the first 60 minutes, but they really turned it on when required. The goal, however fortunate, seemed to turn their confidence on and they've secured their qualification with seemingly relative ease. Zenit were well in this encounter for a long time, but failed to take control of the momentum at hand and now find themselves eliminated from the tournament.
