Inter are into the Champions League semi - finals!
Team
— Apr 19th 2023Inzaghi's side, in front of a brilliant home crowd, played out a 3-3 draw to book their ticket to the semis where they will face AC Mila
The fans sang it loud and proud and the players showed it on the pitch. It was a continuous roar of pride and domination. Goals from Barella, Lautaro and Correa. The crowd at San Siro were brilliant, just look at the display before the game and the light show after El Toro scored. It doesn't matter that it wasn't a win on the night after Benfica made it 3-3. There's only one thing that matters: Inter are into the semis. For the first time in 13 years, the Nerazzurri have reached the penultimate round of Europe's greatest club competition. They will take on AC Milan in a European derby and the fans are already buzzing. In the other semi. Manchester City take on Real Madrid. There will be plenty of time to think about the semi-final though, so for now let's just enjoy this night at the Meazza, which was rocking tonight. The fans drove their team into the next round.
What is the sound of the desire to win? The San Siro roar, of course. And it didn't take long to reach a fever pitch. The Meazza was awash in black and blue for a display that went around the entire stadium and gave a great lift to the players. Inter had a strong starting point as Benfica needed to win by two goals to take it to extra time and Inter decided to leave nothing to chance. The Nerazzurri had plenty of space to hurt the guests because the Portuguese side were forced to go in search of goals. That space was first exploited by Dimarco and Lautaro, then Barella. As it was in the first leg, Nicolò opened the scoring tonight. And what a finish it was. He took the ball down, shifted it onto his left and curled it into the far corner. Goosebumps. But there was no time to celebrate: we had to keep battling. Dimarco was tireless down the flank, Onana brilliant in goal and Lautaro looked to have extended Inter's lead but the referee whistled for a foul against the Argentine. There were goals coming but it was Benfica who bagged the next one. Aursnes headed past Onana to make it 1-1 on the night and throw the tie wide open again. Benfica were back to needing two goals to have any hope and there was still plenty of time left. Neres, who was sent on by Schmidt to start the second half, was the ace up Benfica's sleeves. But our boys kept fighting. And, in the Nerazzurri's most difficult period of the match, they managed to break through once more. Dimarco sped down the left and whipped it in for Lautaro. El Toro latched onto it like a flash and turned it home. 2-1 on the night, 4-1 on aggregate, San Siro in raptures. The fans switched on the torches of their phones to create a spectacular impromptu moment.
Inter kept at it, Inzaghi made changes and Correa bagged himself a goal. Joaquin's dancing feet won him a yard of space, he turned and fired home. 3-1, tie over. Benfica did get themselves to late goals through Antonio Silva and Musa but a 3-3 draw on the night was not enough. Inter are through.
INTER 3-3 BENFICA | FULL TIME
(first leg: Benfica 0-2 Inter)
Goalscorers: 14' Barella (I), 38' Aursnes (B), 65' Lautaro (I), 78' Correa (I), 86' Antonio Silva (B), 95' Musa (B)
INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 36 Darmian, 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni ((33 D'Ambrosio 80'); 2 Dumfries, 23 Barella (20 Calhanoglu 76'), 77 Brozovic, 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco (8 Gosens 80'); 9 Dzeko (90 Lukaku 76'), 10 Lautaro (11 Correa 76'). Subs: 1 Handanovic, 21 Cordaz, 5 Gagliardini, 6 De Vrij, 12 Bellanova, 14 Asllani, 45 Carboni, 90. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.
BENFICA (4-2-3-1): 99 Vlachodimos; 2 Gilberto (7 Neres 46'), 66 António Silva, 30 Otamendi, 3 Grimaldo; 61 Florentino, 22 Chiquinho (87 Joao Neves 81'); 27 Rafa Silva (33 Musa 81'), 20 Joao Mario (21 Schjelderup 89'), 8 Aursnes; 88 Gonçalo Ramos (15 Guedes 74'). Subs: 24 Soares, 75 André Gomes, 4 Verissimo, 19 Tengstedt, 23 Ristic, 73 N'Dour, 91 Morato. Coach: Roger Schmidt.
Bookings: Rafa Silva (B), Musa (B), Neres (B) Added time: 1' - 4'.
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP) Assistants: Barbero, Porras Ayuso (ESP) Fourth official: Soto Grande (ESP) VAR: Martínez Munuera (ESP) Assistant VAR: Hernández (ESP)