This Wednesday, the International received the Benfica for the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions League, tied 3-3 and qualified for the semifinals of the competition. Nicolò Barella, Lautaro Martínez and Joaquín Correa scored for the Italian club and Fredrik Aursnes, António Silva and Petar Musa scored for the Portuguese team. In the first leg, Inter had already beaten Benfica 2-0.
Internazionale will now face their great rivals Milan in the Champions League semi-finals. The first match will be on the 9th of May, at a time yet to be defined, with Milan in charge.
Inter’s next commitment will be for the Italian against Empoli, on Sunday, at 7:30 am (Brasília time), away from home. Benfica now faces Estoril for the Portuguese Championship, also on Sunday, at 2 pm, at home.
How to take a perfect photo 📸#InterBenfica #UCL #ForzaInter pic.twitter.com/QZ3ka5xNjw
— Inter (@Inter) April 19, 2023
The game
Even with the advantage of the first leg, Internazionale did not enter the field to defend and wait for Benfica. After a truncated start to the game and with few chances, Nicolò Barella opened the scoring in the 14th minute for the Italian team with a beautiful shot in the right corner of goalkeeper Vlachodimos.
After the goal, Benfica started to pressure the opponent, forcing Onana to make great saves to try to keep the score at 1-0 until the break. However, the block was broken in the 37th minute after a firm header by Fredrik Aursnes, which left everything equal on the scoreboard.
The second half started balanced once again, but with Benfica staying more in the attacking field to chase the loss. However, the Portuguese club failed to create so many dangerous chances and saw Inter be more efficient. 20 minutes into the final half, Lautaro Martínez put the Italian side ahead once again and essentially qualified Inter.
Before the final whistle, Joaquín Correa even extended the scoreboard for the Italian team in the 33rd minute. In the last moments, Benfica reduced with António Silva in the 42nd minute and drew with Petar Musa in the 49th minute, but it was too late for the visitors to react.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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