Benfica v Internazionale Live Commentary & Result, 4/11/23, UEFA Champions League

That's all for today, goodbye.

Inter have a lead to protect in the second leg and will be hosting Benfica at San Siro in just over a week. However, before their Champions League clash, Benfica will be heading to Chaves in the league. As for Inter, they will be looking to get back to winning ways in Serie A after their victory today and will be hosting Monza in their next match.

Barella and Lukaku scored to give Inter a 2-0 victory in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Benfica. Rafa had the only shot on target in the first 45 minutes but powered his effort from close range straight at Onana. The home side dominated the opening exchanges after the break but conceded against the run of play. Bastoni strolled forward from centre-back and found Barella, who nodded a header into the bottom corner. Benfica had an opportunity to equalise moments later, but neither Rafa nor Grimaldo could find the back of the net with the ball bouncing around Inter’s box. Bastoni then delivered another excellent cross. This time it was Dumfries that latched onto the end of it, but Vlachodimos pushed it away before the rebound was blocked. However, the Nerazzurri found their second from the penalty spot after Joao Mario blocked Dumfries' cross with his arm. Michael Oliver gave the penalty after a VAR review, with Lukaku finding the bottom corner with his spot-kick. Ramos went close to getting a goal back with the last shot of the game, but his effort was saved by Onana.

90' + 4' FULL-TIME: BENFICA 0-2 INTER

90' + 4' SAVE! Ramos could have got a goal back with the last shot of the game. He recieves a throughball from Neres and runs down the left side of the box, but strikes his effort straight at Onana.

90' + 3' Joao Mario looks to loop a cross into the box with Ramos in the middle, but gets it all wrong with Onana there to claim it.

S. de Vrij

A. Bastoni

90' + 1' Inter are looking to let the clock run down and are now making their final change. Bastoni created the first goal and is now coming off. De Vrij replaces him at centre-back.

90' There will be four minutes of additional time.

88' Mkhitaryan looks to unleash Lukaku on the counter with a ball over the top of the Benfica defence. However, Silva is there and plays a pass back to the goalkeeper.

D. D'Ambrosio

D. Dumfries

87' Dumfries played his part in winning the penalty and is now coming off. D'Ambrosio is on for the final few minutes.

85' Neres switches the ball from right to left with Grimaldo getting beyond Darmian and into the box. He takes his shot as it is dropping out the air but misses the target from a tight angle.

E. Džeko

Yellow Card

83' Dzeko is off the pitch but is given a yellow card for dissent.

R. Lukaku

Penalty Goal

82' GOALLLL! LUKAKU SCORES! 2-0 INTER! Lukaku with a composed penalty. He strokes the ball into the bottom corner beyond the reach of Vlachodimos, who dives the right way.

81' INTER PENALTY! Michael Oliver points to the spot after Joao Mario blocks Dumfries' cross with his arm. After looking at the monitor, the referee was able to see that the former West Ham man had his arm around his head when blocking the ball.

80' There is a VAR check after Dumfries’ cross from the right is blocked by the arm of Joao Mario.

78' SAVE! Another exceptional save from Vachodimos. Bastoni already has one assist to his name and is unlucky not to have a second after finding the late run of Dumfries. He is completely unmarked with the goalkeeper pushing away his downwards header before the rebound is blocked.

76' Benfica manager Schmidt is unhappy after Gosens dived into a tackle on Rafa. He will be able to continue after being given treatment.

74' Barella looks for his second of the game. He dribbles down the right side of Benfica's half before driving a low shot across the goal from outside the box, but his effort goes wide.

72' Rafa has been important part of Benfica's Champions League role but has been quiet since the restart. He has scored five goals in eight appearances for Benfica in the Champions League this season, having only netted twice in 22 games in the competition prior to the current campaign.

70' Acerbi is forward for a free-kick with the ball coming to him on the left side of Benfica's box. He chips a cross towards Dumfries who is free, but Ramos gets back to head it behind.

68' Barella drills an effort towards the goal from the edge of the box, but Morato is there to block his goal-bound strike.

66' SAVE! That could be a huge save from Vlachodimos. Barella sends a throughball down the left with Correa racing forward to get on the end of it. He slows down before laying a pass into the feet of Mkhitaryan who gets into the box. He shoots from a tight angle with Vlachodimos blocking his effort.

David Neres

Florentino

64' Benfica make an attacking change. Florentino is off with Neres replacing him. Aursnes is now playing a deeper role alongside Chiquinho.

R. Gosens

F. Dimarco

63' Their third substitution comes on the left side. Gosens, who scored last time out, replaces Dimarco.

J. Correa

L. Martínez

63' Simone Inzaghi has decided to switch both of his strikers. Correa comes on for Martinez.

R. Lukaku

E. Džeko

63' Inter make three changes. Dzeko had a bright start to the game, but has failed to make an impact in the final third. Lukaku, who scored against Porto in the last round, is coming on.

61' Inter have a lead to defend. They are unbeaten in their last three games in the knockout stages of the Champions League (winning two, drawing one), while they haven’t conceded a goal in any of those. The Nerazzurri could keep four consecutive clean sheets in the knockout stages of the competition for the first time.

59' Chiquinho has a great chance in the middle of Inter's box, but misses the target with Onana happy to watch the ball go wide.

57' What a chance for Benfica! Joao Mario gets down the right side of the box and drives a cross into the middle with Grimaldo waiting. He pokes a shot towards the goal, but cannot get enough power on the strike with Bastoni able to get it away under pressure from Ramos and Rafa.

55' Inter's opener would have hurt Benfica. The home side have dominated the ball since the restart and were in complete control.

53' Inter have won all four of their games when scoring the opening goal in the Champions League this season.

A. Bastoni

Assist

52' What a cross from Bastoni. He gets away from Joao Mario who fails to put pressure on him before sending a perfect cross onto the head of Barella.

N. Barella

Goal

51' GOALLLLLL! BARELLA SCORES! 1-0 INTER! Inter break the deadlock! Bastoni rushes forward from centre-back and sends a cross into the box from the left. Barella gets away from his marker and heads the ball across the goal and into the bottom corner.

M. Brozović

Yellow Card

50' Brozovic is the first Inter player to recieve a yellow card after fouling Rafa.

49' Joao Mario is back on the right flank and plays a pass down the right flank to Gilberto. He gets to the byline and puts a cross into the box, but Mkhitaryan is back and heads it away.

47' Morato gets forward and sends a pass into Rafa who plays it down the left with Joao Mario getting forward. He dives a cross into the box, but Dimarco clears it away.

46' Inter get the ball rolling again.

Benfica were the better team in the first 45 minutes, but struggled to get inside Inter's box. Apart from Rafa's strike from close range, all of their efforts have been from outside the area. They need to do more to help Ramos in the middle who has had to battle against Inter's three centre-backs. As for the Serie A outfit, their final pass needs to improve. They keep getting in and around Benfica’s defensive third, but crosses into the box are not finding Dzeko. He has had just 13 touches.

There was only one shot on target in the first half, with the game goalless at the break. Benfica had the best opportunity to break the deadlock when Grimaldo's cross was knocked into the path of Rafa by Inter defender Dimarco, but he struck his effort straight at Onana. Florentino, Joao Mario and Grimaldo failed to hit the target with efforts from outside the box for Benfica, with Inter having just two shots. Dzeko missed the target on nine minutes and Acerbi sent a strike from distance well over the bar.

45' + 1' HALF-TIME: BENFICA 0-0 INTER

44' Rafa bends a cross into the box from the middle third of the pitch with Ramos making a run, but it goes over the head of the striker with Onana collecting it on the second attempt.

42' Barella has been quiet in the first half but does well to switch the ball from left to right with Dimarco rushing into the box. He then looks for Martinez in the box with a cross, but it goes behind the striker.

40' Dimarco and Dzeko are not happy with each other. The Italy international gets down the left side and hesitates before driving a cross from left to right. Dzeko wanted him to curl it in earlier and was in an offside position by the time Dimarco let go of the ball.

38' Acerbi plays a pass straight to Joao Mario, who rushes down the right flank. He looks to get into the box, but Bastoni gets across to slide the ball away.

37' Rafa wins a free-kick on the left after being tripped by Acerbi who lost the ball to the Benfica man. Grimaldo then crosses into the box, but Martinez is there to clear it away.

35' Benfica already have two wins over Italian opposition in the Champions League this term, beating Juventus home and away in the group stage. Prior to the 2022-23 campaign, they had only won two of 11 matches against Italian sides in the European Cup/Champions League (drawing two, losing seven).

33' Aursnes plays a short pass across to Grimaldo who bursts down the left. He takes a shot from the edge of the box with the ball going just wide.

31' Benfica break forward on the counter through Silva, but Mkhitaryan dives in and wins the ball back. It starts a counter down the other end with Dimarco feeding Martinez down the left flank and towards the byline, but Florentino gets back to slide it behind.

29' Grimaldo sends a throughball down the left flank with Aursnes rushing forward. He looks to put the ball across the box, but Dumfries blocks it. Benfica want a penalty, but the ball came of the knee of the defender.

27' Inter are starting to put the pressure on the Benfica defence. First, Dimarco's free-kick is cleared away with Dumfries looking to get on the end of it, before the wing-back then has a long throw-in poked away.

25' Acerbi tries his luck from distance, but his shot goes over the bar.

24' Inter have had the ball for the last couple of minutes, but Benfica have done well to force them back. They had a chance to get into the box when Martinez let Darmian's drilled pass go through his legs to Dzeko, but the former Manchester City forward went back rather than find Dumfries who was making a run beyond him.

António Silva

Yellow Card

22' Silva recieves the first yellow card of the game after a late tackle on Martinez. He went through the striker trying to get the ball.

20' Benfica have been the better team in the first 21 minutes. They have had 56.7 per cent of the ball and are controlling the tempo of the game with Inter struggling to get out of their half.

19' Dimarco heads the ball straight to Ramos who does well to get the ball under control before chipping it into the path of Joao Mario who makes a run down the right side of Inter's box. He lashes a shot across the goal, but it goes wide of the target.

18' Inter have failed to find Dzeko on a number of occasions with crosses into the box. This time Dimarco sends a cross straight at Vlachodimos.

16' SAVE! What a chance for Benfica to take the lead. Grimaldo whips a dangerous cross into the box from the left with Dimarco heading it into the path of Rafa. The Portugal international gets a shot away inside the box, but it is straight at Onana who pushes it away.

14' This is the fourth meeting between Benfica and Inter in European competition, and first since the last-16 stage of the 2003-04 UEFA Cup. Benfica are winless in the previous three, drawing one and losing the other two.

13' Benfica have their first chance of the game. Chiquinho plays a short pass across to his midfield partner Florentino just outside the box, with the 23-year-old curling a right-footed effort well wide of the target.

11' Chiquinho swings a corner into the box from the left with Dumfries heading it away.

9' Barella wins the ball off Aursnes in Benfica's defensive third with the winger unable to get it under control. He bursts down the right and curls a cross into the box, but it goes past the head of Dzeko who tries to get on the end of it.

7' Dimarco gets the ball on the left before shifting it past Gilberto and crossing it into the box. However, his cross towards Dzeko is poor with Silva clearing it behind.

6' Benfica try and trap Inter into their own half and trigger a press down the left side. Aursnes tries to win the ball back, but fouls Barella who moves the ball past him.

4' Dimarco looks to play the ball up to Dzeko with the striker knocking it towards Martinez. However, his pass is too far away from his strike partner and Grimaldo comes away with it.

2' Benfica have looked to pass the ball around their defence with Inter happy to press them in their defensive third. The away side win it back with Dzeko getting it on the edge of the box, but his pass across to Martinez is poor and they lose possession.

1' Benfica get this Champions League clash under way. Ramos with the first kick.

The one previous meeting between Benfica and Inter in the European Cup/Champions League came in 1965, when the Italian side won 1-0 at the Giuseppe Meazza.

Inter make five alterations to the side that drew with Salernitana in Serie A. The first change is at centre-back with Bastoni coming in for De Vrij. Gosens scored last time out but is replaced by Dimarco on the left. Brozovic captains the team at the heart of the midfield with Asllani dropping to the bench. Inzaghi also decides to switch the two strikers, meaning that Dzeko and Martinez are preferred ahead of Lukaku and Correa.

Benfica make two changes to the team that lost to Porto in the Primeira Liga. Alexander Bah came off after 26 minutes in the previous match and does not make the squad, meaning Gilberto comes in to replace him at right-back. Nicolas Otamendi misses out through suspension, with Morato starting at centre-back.

INTER SUBS: Samir Handanovic, Alex Cordaz, Roberto Gagliardini, Stefan de Vrij, Robin Gosens, Joaquin Correa, Raoul Bellanova, Kristjan Asllani, Danilo D’Ambrosio, Valentin Carboni, Mattia Zanotti, Romelu Lukaku.

INTER (3-5-2): Andre Onana; Matteo Darmian, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Federico Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko.

BENFICA SUBS: Samuel Soares, Andre Gomes, Lucas Verissimo, David Neres, Goncalo Guedes, Casper Tengstedt, Andreas Schjelderup, Petar Musa, Rafael Rodrigues, Joao Tome, Cher Ndour, Joao Neves.

BENFICA (4-2-3-1): Odysseas Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Antonio Silva, Morato, Alejandro Grimaldo; Florentino, Chiquinho; Joao Mario, Rafa, Fredrik Aursnes; Goncalo Ramos.

Inter will be hoping the Champions League can help revitalise their season after struggling domestically in recent weeks. They have won just one of their last seven games in all competitions, succumbing to a late equaliser against relegation-threatened Salernitana in their previous match. Their run of results has seen them drop out of the top four in Italy, with Roma overtaking them in the league. Inter finished behind Bayern Munich in Group C and progressed to the quarter-finals after edging past Porto in the last 16. Romelu Lukaku's goal in the first leg at San Siro was enough to win the tie, with the reverse fixture ending goalless.

Benfica continued their thrilling season in the Champions League with a 7-1 aggregate victory over Club Brugge in the previous round. It came after the Portuguese side finished above Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus in their group, with Roger Schmidt's team still unbeaten in the competition. Winning four successive games, Benfica will be looking to record five consecutive victories in the European Cup/Champions League for the first time since the 1989-90 campaign, when they won six in a row en route to reaching the final that season (lost 1-0 v Milan). However, they are coming off the back of their first league defeat since New Year's Eve, losing to title rivals Porto last time out.

Hello and welcome to the live commentary for the Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash between Benfica and Inter.

Benfica v Internazionale Live Commentary, 4/11/23

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