SPARTAK MOSCOW skipper Dmitriy Kombarov believes his side's 2-1 victory over Benfica was a "must-win game".

With the Russians hampered by injuries, coach Unai Emery was forced to send out a makeshift side for their third match in Group G as they went for a first win in the group following defeats against Barcelona and Celtic.

But after an own goal from Jardel proved decisive at the Stadion Luzhniki, Kombarov claimed Spartak can come back from the dead.

He said: "It was a must-win game for us, we just couldn't afford to lose again. We also had to pay back our fans for the two previous defeats."

Spartak had also led 2-1 against Barcelona and Celtic before losing their opening group games by the same 3-2 scoreline, but they were able to hold on to their advantage this time round.

Ari could have made it 3-1 shortly after the restart with a clever back heel from close range following a Jano Ananidze pass.

For Benfica, Eduardo Salvio missed a great chance with the goal at his mercy 20 minutes from time after a bad defensive error from Makeyev, and Lima blasted over the bar from a good position a few minutes later.

Spartak then withstood a Benfica barrage to put their first points on the board.

For his par,t Spartak coach Emery, who had been under heavy pressure following three consecutive defeats in domestic and European competition, was a relieved man to have finally broken his side's Group G duck at the third time of asking.

Benfica coach Jorge Jesus blamed Moscow's artificial turf for the first goal but admitted his team must improve to have a chance to reach the knockout round.

He groaned: "Our next two matches are in Lisbon and we need to win them both. We had a lot of bad passes at the start because we're not used to playing on a synthetic pitch."

The Portuguese side now sit at the foot of Group G with just one point.