Inter beats Benfica on Champions league
Watch Benfica vs Inter milan Highlights, as they clashed at the meeting in the champions league in quarter finals at Estadio da Luz.
Benfica put up a match against inter by dominating the entire match and concluded with a victory on the yesterday’s meeting.
Benfica vs Inter Milan highlights
Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku scored second-half goals in Lisbon’s Stadium of Light to move the Italian team into a good position to reach the semi-finals of the European competition for the first time in more than a decade.
Aiming to win five consecutive Champions League games for the first time since 1990, Benfica controlled the pace of the game but it was Inter that struck with a header by Barella off a long cross by Alessandro Bastoni into the area in the 51st minute.
Substitute Lukaku added to Inter’s lead by converting an 82nd-minute penalty kick that was determined by video review for a handball by former Inter player Joao Mario inside the area.
it was Benfica’s first Champions League loss in 13 matches this season after they started the competition in the third qualifying round and became one of the surprises of the competition so far by overcoming the challenges of Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
Inter were winless in six matches in all competitions, with their last victory against Lecce in the Italian league in March. Benfica were coming off a loss to rivals Porto in the Portuguese league but had won 13 of their last 15 matches in all competitions since then.
The winner of the series between Inter and Benfica will face AC Milan or Napoli in the semi-finals.
Inter journey over league
As for Inter, the New Year has been a mixed bag for Simone Inzaghi‘s team, evidenced by their wretched sequence of results since the end of February.
Beaten by Bologna after a commendable 1-0 win over Porto in Europe, that defeat began a run of games in which only one victory has been secured in seven games in all competitions.
Goalscoring has been an issue for Inzaghi’s men, with the Nerazzurri not scoring more than one goal in three of those seven fixtures, and also failing to even find the back of the net in as many games.
Good Friday’s 1-1 draw with Salernitana was almost comical, with Romelu Lukaku contriving to somehow hit the crossbar from the goalmouth, Nicolo Barella hitting the post from distance and Guillermo Ochoa making a glut of saves to keep the home side in the game before Antonio Candreva’s fortunate equaliser.
Be that as it may, Inzaghi could take solace in the quality of chances created on the day, even if they can afford no more off days in front of goal against one of the best teams in this year’s Champions League.
Inter initially looked brighter, then found themselves indebted to Andre Onana when the goalkeeper made a masterful reflex save with his chest to keep out Rafa Silva’s close-range strike.
The resolute visitors grew in confidence after that early scare, and their satisfaction with the scoreline at the break became joy when Nicolò Barella put them ahead with their first attempt on target, deftly heading in Alessandro Bastoni’s searching cross.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan could have made it two for Simone Inzaghi’s tightly-organised side, breaking clear on one of their judiciously-chosen raids forward but seeing his clipped finish kept out by the onrushing Odysseas Vlachodimos.
The goalkeeper produced another excellent save to stop a header from the unmarked Denzel Dumfries, only to be beaten again when Romelu Lukaku – on as part of a triple substitution shortly after Inter’s opener – fired in a precise penalty after João Mário had been penalised for handball.
There was still time for a final burst of heroism from Onana, thwarting Gonçalo Ramos with the last touch of the game, to ensure Inter return to Milan with the tie in their grasp.
