The Brazilian rose highest to power home from a free-kick in the first minute of stoppage time
Jonas left it late before giving Benfica a priceless lead to take to Russia next month in their Champions League last-16 first leg against Zenit St Petersburg.
The Brazilian rose highest to power home from a free-kick in the first minute of stoppage time just when it appeared the Portuguese side would be frustrated after missing a host of chances.
But in the final minute, Domenico Criscito saw red when he got his second booking for a foul from behind on Andre Almeida.
And from the resulting free-kick, Jonas rose to head past Yuri Lodygin and into the far corner.
Zenit were playing their first game in two months following a long domestic winter break.
And Andre Villas-Boas’s side almost held out despite being dominated in both halves by a home side who did everything but score.
Benfica 1-0 Zenit: Jonas wins it late against 10-man visitors
Domenico Criscito was sent off late in the game with his second yellow card, allowing the Portuguese side to take the advantage in the first-leg of their Champions League tie
A stoppage-time header from Jonas fired Benfica to a 1-0 win over Zenit in the first leg of their Champions league last-16 tie on Tuesday.The Portuguese champions suffered a bitterly disappointing defeat to Porto last Friday and looked set to suffer further frustration against their opponents coming into the match following the Russian Premier League's extended mid-season break.
However, a second yellow card collected by Domenico Criscito for a foul on Andre Almeida paved the way for Zenit's downfall as the home side capitalised in the dying moments of the game.
From Nicolas Gaitan's resulting free-kick, Jonas stole in to nod home and spark wild celebrations inside Estadio da Luz and ensure Benfica will travel to St Petersburg with a slender lead.
Zenit initially appeared refreshed rather than rusty after 10 weeks without a competitive match, attacking with confidence but lacking quality on the final ball, with Hulk a major culprit.
Almeida received a 16th-minute yellow card for a foul on Criscito that will rule him out of the second leg but the Benfica right-back shrugged off that disappointment to tee up Pizzi, though the winger's resulting shot was too close to goalkeeper Yuri Lodygin.
Chances remained at a premium as the half-hour mark approached, with Jonas seeing a curling 25-yard effort deflected wide, although it was becoming a costly evening for Rui Vitoria's men as Jardel was booked for a clumsy foul on Hulk to ensure he would join Almeida as a spectator in two weeks' time.
The Brazil forward got up to thump a venomous free-kick wide and neither side came any closer to finding the breakthrough before referee Gianluca Rocchi sounded the half-time whistle.
Zenit midfielder Axel Witsel drove forward in the 52nd minute and Benfica keeper Julio Cesar was not entirely convincing as the Belgian's drive bounced awkwardly.
Kostas Mitroglou was largely feeding off scraps at the other end but managed to hustle former Benfica defender Ezequiel Garay out of possession to set up Gaitan - the captain's horribly skewed shot coming as a disappointment.
Zenit's Javi Garcia became the latest player to collect suspension inducing booking for handball before Gaitan forced Lodygin to repel his firmly hit shot.
Zenit initially appeared refreshed rather than rusty after 10 weeks without a competitive match, attacking with confidence but lacking quality on the final ball, with Hulk a major culprit.
Almeida received a 16th-minute yellow card for a foul on Criscito that will rule him out of the second leg but the Benfica right-back shrugged off that disappointment to tee up Pizzi, though the winger's resulting shot was too close to goalkeeper Yuri Lodygin.
Chances remained at a premium as the half-hour mark approached, with Jonas seeing a curling 25-yard effort deflected wide, although it was becoming a costly evening for Rui Vitoria's men as Jardel was booked for a clumsy foul on Hulk to ensure he would join Almeida as a spectator in two weeks' time.
The Brazil forward got up to thump a venomous free-kick wide and neither side came any closer to finding the breakthrough before referee Gianluca Rocchi sounded the half-time whistle.
Zenit midfielder Axel Witsel drove forward in the 52nd minute and Benfica keeper Julio Cesar was not entirely convincing as the Belgian's drive bounced awkwardly.
Kostas Mitroglou was largely feeding off scraps at the other end but managed to hustle former Benfica defender Ezequiel Garay out of possession to set up Gaitan - the captain's horribly skewed shot coming as a disappointment.
Zenit's Javi Garcia became the latest player to collect suspension inducing booking for handball before Gaitan forced Lodygin to repel his firmly hit shot.
Zenit's inactivity eventually caught up with them and encouraged a Benfica push as centre-backs Victor Lindelof and Jardel combined for the latter to fire wide.
But just as the weary visitors appeared to have weathered the storm, Criscito erred and - with Zenit seemingly distracted by their protests - Jonas pounced to nod home his 25th goal of the season.
But just as the weary visitors appeared to have weathered the storm, Criscito erred and - with Zenit seemingly distracted by their protests - Jonas pounced to nod home his 25th goal of the season.
Benfica 1-0 Zenit: Late Jonas header sends Portuguese giants to Russia with slender advantage
TEAM RATINGS
Benfica
12Júlio César
The experienced Brazilian goalkeeper made a couple of smart saves and was always quick off his line.34André Almeida
Struggled to whip in too many quality balls from the right-hand side, but won the vital free-kick to lead to Jonas' winning goal.19Eliseu
Went close from range on one occasion, but didn't get forward too often. Caught out of position occasionally.33Jardel
An aerial threat in the opposition penalty area, but was occasionally found lacking pace at the back. Held his line well.14V. Nilsson-Lindelöf
Struggled in the air against Dzyuba at times, but covered a lot of ground to make some much-needed interceptions.85Renato Sanches
Neat on the ball and wasn't afraid to try and drive upfield at times. Lacked cutting edge, but showed great enthusiasm.7A. Samaris
Tested Lodygin from range on a couple of occasions, after working hard to break up play and then join attacks.10N. Gaitán
Showed some lovely footwork, but should have broken the deadlock earlier. Whipped in a great free-kick for the winner.21Pizzi
Picked up an early booking and was fairly quiet throughout, despite being picked out in space on the right occasionally.17Jonas
Sent a looping header into the back of the net for the stoppage-time winner, after threatening on a few earlier occasions.11K. Mitroglou
Saw a couple of snap shots go close, but the Greece international was largely marshalled well by Garay.
Zenit
1Y. Lodygin
Commanded his area fairly well and made good saves to deny Samaris and Gaitan.24E. Garay
Stayed strong against Mitroglou and didn't find himself turned too often at all. A fairly comfortable 90 minutes.2A. Anyukov
Struggled against the quick feet of Gaitan at times, but the experienced right-back tenaciously stuck to his task.4D. Criscito
Sent off in the dying minutes after picking up two cheap yellow cards. Did make two vital clearances, however.6N. Lombaerts
Hooked away a couple of good clearances in the second half, but wasn't troubled too often.10Danny
Went on a few dangerous dribbling runs, but couldn't carve out anything telling for his side.28A. Witsel
Broke up play fairly well, but also showed the explosive side of his game when leading the charge on the counter.17O. Shatov
Tracked back brilliantly throughout, doubling up with Criscito to ensure that Almeida and Pizzi had little joy.21Javi García
Sat in front of the back four, to ensure that things remained congested for Benfica to try and play through. Tried to spark breaks.22A. Dzyuba
Put in a lot of hard work, but did hold the ball up quite well in the first half. Caught offside too often, however, and faded late on.7Hulk
Threatened sporadically, seeing a couple of low drives zip off the turf and head wide of the target.
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