Beşiktaş moved a step closer to reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time and pushed Monaco nearer the exit after the sides drew 1-1 in a closely contested Group G game on Wednesday. Striker Keita Balde missed a great chance to score the winner for Monaco deep into injury time, but his shot was easily gathered by home goalkeeper Fabri. Rony Lopes put Monaco ahead in first-half injury time with a fine strike from the edge of the penalty area. Cenk Tosun leveled from the penalty spot in the 54th minute after Brazilian defender Jorge brought down Ricardo Quaresma, sliding in carelessly just as the Portugal winger cut inside. Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic guessed the right way on Tosun's penalty.

"I tried to keep calm and put it high," Tosun said. "Subasic managed to get a touch on it, congratulations to him." Beşiktaş has 10 points, but is not yet through.

"Qualifying for the next round means a lot to me. It means a lot for the club, too, both in terms of sports and economy," Beşiktaş coach Şenol Güneş said. "But had we lost, we could lose a lot of momentum in the group. Everything can turn upside down in a second." Porto is second with six points after beating Leipzig 3-1 Wednesday, while Leipzig has four points and Monaco - last season's flamboyant semifinalist - only two. Monaco has a remote chance of qualifying providing it wins at home to Leipzig and away to Porto with other results going its way. Still, Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim was proud of his team's resilient performance. "I'm happy, because my team tried to control the game and tried to play aggressive football, both in attack and defense," he said. "I think the Monaco fans will be very happy with them, too."