LEVERKUSEN, Germany - Substitute Lucas Ocampos scored with his first touch of the ball to give Monaco a 1-0 victory at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday and keep alive his team's hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Leverkusen was sure to advance even before kickoff, because Zenit had beaten Benfica 1-0 in the earlier match in Group C.

Leverkusen tops the group with nine points and goes through because Monaco and Zenit play each other in the final group round. Monaco has eight points, Zenit seven and Benfica four.

Two minutes after coming on, Ocampos scored in the 72nd, taking one of Monaco's rare opportunities in a lacklustre match. The French side defended most of the time, while Leverkusen came close to scoring on several occasions but could not find the target.

Dimitar Berbatov, who played for Leverkusen early in his career, won the ball in midfield from Hakan Calhanoglu and fed Nabil Dirar, who sent a perfect cross past Emir Spahic for the sliding Ocampos to tap into the net from close range.

"You have to be clever and take the chance when it comes," Berbatov said. "We held on in the first half and they got a bit tired in the second half and we looked to score."

Leverkusen's coach Roger Schmidt called Monaco's goal "a lucky punch" and lamented his team's poor finishing.

Leverkusen also lost 1-0 in Monaco despite having the upper hand.

"We controlled the match but couldn't score and allowed a stupid goal," Leverkusen's striker Stefan Kiessling said.