Nico Barella and Romelu Lukaku on target as Inter Milan overcome Benfica in Champions League quarter-final first leg

Nico Barella and Romelu Lukaku were on target for Inter Milan as they beat Benfica 2-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final. It was a lacklustre first half, with only one shot on target coming from Rafa Silva, who received the ball after Federico Dimarco unintentionally knocked it his way. Ad The Portuguese reacted quickly, but struck his effort straight at Andre Onana for an easy save.

Serie ALate Candreva goal denies his former club Inter the win07/04/2023 AT 14:09 Early in the second half, Inter took advantage of some poor defending from Benfica as Alessandro Bastoni bypassed Joao Mario and crossed a ball into the box as Barella managed to get away from his marker, heading the ball down into the bottom corner. Minutes later, Benfica were close to an equaliser as Silva poked a shot towards goal, but after the ball ricocheted around the box for a few moments, Bastoni quickly managed to clear the ball away. A late VAR check deemed that Joao Mario had handled the ball from a Denzel Dumfries cross.

Lukaku stepped up and scored his side’s second, and his third in the competition this season. Moments before the final whistle, Goncalo Ramos got on the end of a throughball but his shot at the near post was straight at Onana for an easy save. Before the second leg in Milan, Benfica will play Chaves, while Inter will host Monza.

Champions League group standings Champions League fixtures / results Champions League top scorers TALKING POINT: AN OPPORTUNITY LOST FOR BENFICA Benfica were uncharacteristically cautious in their approach today, and it hurt them in the end. One can argue that the penalty was harsh, but they only had two shots on target, one being right before the final whistle. Their slow