First-half goals from Hulk and Axel Witsel helped Zenit St Petersburg get their Champions League season off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory away to 10-man Benfica.

Hulk fired Zenit ahead on four minutes, before a calamitous error in judgement from goalkeeper Artur saw the Benfica stopper sent off on 18 minutes.

Witsel then struck against his former team shortly after as the Russian Premier League side ended a 51-game unbeaten run at the Estadio da Luz for their Portuguese counterparts.

Below, Sports Mole delves into analysis and tells you what happened and how it happened.

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Match statistics

BENFICA
Shots: 9
On target: 5
Possession: 43%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 11

ZENIT ST PETERSBURG
Shots: 12
On target: 8
Possession: 57%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 16

Was the result fair?

Certainly, yes. First-half goals from Hulk and Axel Witsel, either side of Artur's red card, brought the curtain down some 22 minutes after it was raised in this Champions League opener. Anything but a victory for Zenit and Benfica would have been investigated by Interpol for such a grand robbery. The Portuguese club did restore a little pride by trying to crowbar their way back into the clash in the second half, but it was not to be.

Benfica's performance

They showed plenty of guts after being reduced to 10 men so early in the contest, and would have had some reward for their labours if not for Zenit keeper Yury Lodygin, who produced two crucial second-half saves to prevent Luisao and Lima from giving their side a glimmer of hope. Artur's dismissal on 18 minutes hindered them, but Jorge Jesus's troops were second best prior to that and already trailed by a goal. They have never qualified from the group stage under Jesus and, on this evidence, that two-year wait could go on.

Zenit St Petersburg's performance

It would be easy to think that Artur's 18th-minute red card helped swing the match in Zenit's favour, but in truth Andre Villas-Boas's side were much the better team prior to the sending-off and already led by a goal courtesy of Hulk. Did Artur's dismissal make it easier than it might have been otherwise? Undoubtedly, but the Russian side showed more than enough before the red card to suggest that a victory was on the cards irrespective of their man advantage.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Hulk:

Far and away Zenit's best player tonight, the Brazilian produced a powerful, dominant performance to live up to his nickname. Hulk opened the scoring on four minutes, clipping left-footed over Artur to give his team the lead in fine fashion, before the post denied him a brace in the second half. Will have a big say in Zenit's hopes of qualifying from the group stage.

Biggest gaffe Artur. The Brazilian goalkeeper got sent off on 18 minutes for a moment of madness that undoubtedly contributed to Benfica's downfall. He sprinted outside his area to clear a loose ball, but Danny reached it first, rounded the keeper but, before he could tap into an empty net, Artur bundled him to the ground just outside the area. It was the defining moment of the game, and could end up defining Benfica's group stage.

Referee performance

Svein Moen did a stellar job in charge and called all of his high-profile decisions correctly. He rightly brandished a red card to Artur for denying Danny an open goal, while Maxi Pereira and Javi Garcia were both justifiably booked. Moen also had a number of penalty appeals to judge and managed to call of them correctly. Neither manager can have much complaint over the refereeing performance.

What next?

Benfica: Jorge Jesus's side have five days in which to recover from this setback when they host Moreirense in the Primera Liga on Sunday.

Zenit St Petersburg: Zenit have a little less time, however, as Villas-Boas's troops resume domestic commitments when they face FC Rostov away on Saturday morning.