Wilfried Singo (24) is set for a period on the sidelines after picking up an injury against Aston Villa in midweek. The Ivory Coast international netted the winner against Aston Villa in the UEFA

Aston Villa missed the chance to all but secure their place in the Champions League knockouts as they were beaten by Monaco at Stade

A solitary strike from Wilfried Singo afforded Monaco a narrow 1-0 Champions League victory over Aston Villa on Tuesday night. Unai Emery challenged his players to become a "protagonist" of this season's Champions League.

Obviously satisfied with three points against Aston Villa to obtain qualification for the Champions League playoffs (1-0), the two defenders and the Monaco goalkeeper spoke in the mixed zone.

Monaco held firm to secure a fantastic 1-0 victory on Tuesday night, moving the Monegasques level on 13 points with Aston Villa in the Champions League league phase.

Aston Villa missed the chance to all but secure their place in the Champions League knockouts as they were beaten by Monaco at Stade Louis II .

AS Monaco edged out Aston Villa 1-0 at home in the Champions League on Tuesday with an early goal from Wilfried Singo as the Ligue 1 side secured their first victory of the year. Monaco snapped a four-game winless run in all competitions and are amongst the seeded playoff spots in the 36-team Champions League table with 13 points.

Going into the penultimate matchday of their Champions League group stage campaign, Monaco had been winless since the turn of the year. Their ongoing crisis had found its root in a late collapse at