Joao Moutinho scored the only goal of the game as Monaco got their first Champions League campaign in almost a decade off to a winning start against Bayer Leverkusen.
The Germans were dominant in the first period, missing goalscoring opportunities through Gonzalo Castro, Karim Bellarabi and Son Heung-Min as the teams headed into half time tied at 0-0.
The deadlock was broken on the hour mark as Monaco finally got into their stride, controlling the match for the final half-hour while Leverkusen looked like a team with the wind knocked out of their sails.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how each player fared on the night.
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MONACO
Goal
Danijel Subasic: Leverkusen's appalling finishing meant that the Monaco goalkeeper barely had a shot to contend with, but he looked like a reliable pair of hands when coming for crosses and pulled off an important save to deny Stefan Kiessling at the death. (7/10)
Defence
Fabinho: Much of Monaco's creative play came from the left channel, but Fabinho did his bit to keep Son Heung-Min quiet along the right, not that the South Korean posed much of a threat for the majority of the 90 minutes. (6/10)
Layvin Kurzawa: The wing-back was the home side's stand-out player this evening. He was involved in everything positive they created and it was his pitch-spanning run that led to the winning goal. (9/10)
Ricardo Carvalho: Carvalho was poor this evening. He was slow to react, weak with his challenges and always looked like a liability when Leverkusen were on the attack. (5/10)
Andrea Raggi: Raggi was guilty of many of the same crimes as Carvalho during the first half, but his interception from Hakan Calhanoglu's pass across the face of goal potentially prevented his side from conceding early in the second period. (6/10)
Midfield
Joao Moutinho: The Portuguese was unspectacular for much of the game, but he took that goalscoring opportunity when it fell to him, which is more than we can say for the opposition. (7/10)
Geoffrey Kondogbia: Struggled to make an impact in the first half, but linked up well with his fellow midfielders at times in the second when Monaco looked more organised in the centre of the park. (6/10)
Jeremy Toulalan: Allowed the Leverkusen midfielder to boss him in the first half, but eventually settled into the match without making any real impact. (6/10)
Attack
Dimitar Berbatov: Playing as Monaco's only out-and-out striker, Berbatov really struggled in the first period and his positioning was poor. However, he was more creative in the second period and claimed an assist. (7/10)
Lucas Ocampos: Posed no real threat to the Leverkusen back line and failed to provide appropriate support for Berbatov up front, which put more pressure on the Bulgarian. (5/10)
Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco: He was one of the few Monaco players who didn't look out of his depth in the first period. He played in some dangerous crosses throughout the match and looked capable of doing damage. (8/10)
Substitutes
Wallace: A last-minute replacement for Kondogbia, given no time to make an impact. (6/10)
Bernardo Silva: Replaced the lacklustre Ocampos in the second period and did his part to help stabilise the Monaco midfield. (7/10)
Nabil Dirar: A late introduction to replace Ferreira-Carrasco. Not given the time or the service to make a real impression. (6/10)
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LEVERKUSEN
Goal
Bernd Leno: He had even less to do than his Monaco counterpart, but pulled off a good save to deny Ferreira-Carrasco in the final 10 minutes to keep the deficit down. There was little he could have done about that goal. (7/10)
Defence
Emir Spahic: He put in a solid defensive display in the first half on the rare occasions he was called upon, but let the frustration get to him in the second, picking up a needless booking. (6/10)
Tin Jedvaj: Looked powerful and reliable at the back, but his evening was cut short by injury, with Giulio Donati drafted in as his replacement. (7/10)
Sebastian Boenisch: The defender kept Berbatov quiet for most of the game, but was a mere spectator when Moutinho fired Monaco in front. (6/10)
Omer Toprak: The young Turk put in a good shift this evening and was unfortunate to be substituted in the second period due to a tactical change. (8/10)
Midfield
Son Heung-Min: The South Korean international was guilty of missing one of the chances of the evening on the stroke of half time when Gonzalo Castro picked him out in the box unmarked, only to watch him drag his shot wide. (6/10)
Lars Bender: Bender looked like a rock in midfield in the first period, but he is clearly lacking match fitness following a lengthy spell of the sidelines, as he was flagging in the second period by the time of his substitution. (7/10)
Hakan Calhanoglu: Another Turk who impressed tonight, Calhanoglu was involved in most of Leverkusen's attacks, playing in some dangerous crosses and going on mazy runs that had the Monaco defence in disarray. (8/10)
Gonzalo Castro: Castro proved a handful for Monaco all evening, but he too could have had his name on the scoresheet. He should have done better in front of goal at the end of the first period when his effort was deflected over at point-blank range. (7/10)
Karim Bellarabi: It just wasn't Bellarabi's day. His failure to hit the target in the 36th minute with only the goalkeeper to beat is one of the worst misses you're likely to see at this level. (5/10)
Attack
Stefan Kiessling: Kiessling was unselfish and made his presence felt up front, but will no doubt be disappointed he didn't manage to test Subasic more. (7/10)
Substitutes
Giulio Donati: Jedvaj's replacement at the back barely put a foot wrong since his introduction, but could do little to prevent his side slumping to a defeat. (7/10)
Stefan Reinartz: He was an attacking change to replace Omer Toprak, but it didn't really pay off, with Leverkusen failing to impose the same dominance in the midfield after the break. (6/10)
Josip Drmic: Another attacking switch that bore no fruit, Drmic failed to produce anything that might have help his team salvage something from tonight. (6/10)
Mark Langshaw
