Inter survive late goals to set up all-Milan Champions League semi-final

Internazionale set up a Champions League semi-final derby with Milan, edging Benfica 5-3 on aggregate after a thrilling 3-3 draw in the second leg at San Siro.

The Italian side carried over a 2-0 lead from the first leg in Lisbon and that result proved critical as Benfica fought hard, scoring twice in the closing minutes to battle back from 3-1 down on the night.

Nicolò Barella, Lautaro Martínez and the substitute Joaquín Correa all hit the target for Inter, with Fredrik Aursnes levelling in the first half before Antonio Silva and Petar Musa completed a fine but futile comeback. Simone Inzaghi’s men now face a tantalising clash against their city rivals in the last four next month, with a place in the Istanbul final up for grabs.

Benfica started brightly, with Inter happy to wait for opportunities to open up on the counter-attack, but it was a moment of quality from Barella that drew first blood.

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Having opened the scoring in the first leg, the midfielder repeated the trick with a lovely curling finish into the corner. Edin Dzeko played his part, winning possession to put Benfica under pressure, before Martínez and Barella dovetailed smartly as they worked their way into the penalty area. Barella’s left-footed strike capped the move in style to give his side a three-goal buffer.

Benfica knew they had to find a riposte but could have gone two behind as Alessandro Bastoni and Dzeko both missed presentable headed chances.

André Onana sprang into action in the Inter goal to deny Chiquinho from long range and again from a corner, but Benfica found a foothold in the 38th minute to go in at half-time