MONACO, Monaco - Monaco failed to break down Benfica's stubborn defence in a 0-0 draw and slipped to second place in Group C of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Benfica had defender Lisandro Lopez sent off in the 76th minute for a second yellow card after a reckless tackle on Portugal midfielder Joao Moutinho.

After striker Dimitar Berbatov limped off with a hamstring in the 32nd, Monaco lacked a cutting edge in attack.

Former Manchester United forward Berbatov looked sharp early on, setting up Lucas Ocampos for a chance that the Argentine midfielder fired high.

Argentine midfielder Eduardo Salvio shot over the crossbar from a good position and Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic saved forward Lima's shot, as Benfica started to dictate the first half.

Monaco has five points and is on point behind group leader Bayer Leverkusen, which beat Russian club Zenit St. Peterburg 2-0 at home.

"We played well for the first 30 minutes but we couldn't take our chances," Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim said. "The match was more even after that. We pushed until the end but without success. It's tough for some teams to be consistent over 90 minutes, and that's the case for us. I'm not happy with how we played in attack."

Things look better in defence, however, considering Monaco has not conceded a goal in three consecutive matches.

Anthony Martial, who replaced Berbatov, missed a chance to put Monaco ahead in the 48th when the 18-year-old's shot went just over the crossbar.

Moments later, Moutinho just failed to get on the end of a cross from midfielder Nabil Dirar and, at the other end, Subasic blocked a shot from midfielder Nicolas Gaitain.

Monaco almost won it in the last minute when Italian centre-half Andrea Raggi headed just wide from Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco's cross.