On an evening where Kylian Mbappe and PSG had made headlines before even stepping onto the pitch, a big performance was needed to hush the latest soap opera surrounding Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe did step up to fire a penalty home in the first half against Benfica, and celebrated with intent following reports that he has asked to leave PSG in January.
The goal made Mbappe the club's all-time top scorer in the Champions League, but his goal & the lead it gave PSG did not translate into a positive second-half performance. Benfica defended shrewdly and grew into the contest, forcing PSG into errors as they took their foot off the gas and stopped piling on the pressure.
Marco Verratti's waning influence resulted in him clipping Rafa Silva and gifting the visitors a chance to equalise from the spot after 62 minutes, which Joao Mario did with ease.
Victory for either side on the night would've been enough for them to secure their place in the Champions League knockout stages after Juventus surprisingly lost to Maccabi Haifa earlier in the evening, but both teams lacked the quality to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
It was a tiring watch on a day that had surely already been exhausting enough for PSG fans - what happens next is anyone's guess.