Benfica vs Inter Milan result, highlights as Barella and Lukaku score to give Italian giants advantage

Author Photo
Joel Sritharan
• 11 min read
Getty Images

Inter Milan took a huge step towards securing a spot in the 2022/23 Champions League semifinals after beating Benfica 2-0 away from home.

Nicolo Barella scored early in the second half before Romelu Lukaku finished the job from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute.

Benfica had their chances to score, but Andre Onana and the Inter defenders were equal to whatever was thrown at them by the hosts.

Referee Michael Oliver made a controversial decision to award Inter a penalty following a look on the VAR monitor. Joao Mario was harshly penalised for a handball.

This is the first time Benfica have lost back-to-back matches under manager Roger Schimdt.

Simone Inzaghi will not underestimate Benfica heading into the second leg, as they showed that they can create more than enough chances to turn this tie around. 

The Sporting News was following the match live and sharing highlights of the goals below.

MORE: The Sporting News' roundtable predict the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds

Benfica vs Inter Milan confirmed lineups

Benfica starting lineup (4-3-3): Vladchodimos (GK) — Grimaldo, A. Silva, Morato, Gilberto— Florentino (Neres 64'), Aursnes, Chiquinho — Mario, Ramos, R. Silva

Inter Milan starting lineup (3-5-2: Onana(GK) — Acerbi, Bastoni (De Vrij 92'), Darmian — Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco (Gosens 63') — Martinez (Lukaku 63'), Dzeko (Correa 63')

Benfica vs Inter Milan final score

  1H 2H Final
Benfica 0 0 0
Inter 0 2 2

Goals:
INTER  — Nicolo Barella (51st minute)

INTER  — Romelu Lukaku (82nd minute)

Benfica vs Inter Milan result, highlights from Champions League

Fulltime: Ramos misses a great chance for Benfica with the last kick of the game as Onana makes a good save. Inter will be very happy with the result while Benfica have some thinking to do.

94th minute: The Benfica substitutes are walking back to the bench as this game is coming to an end. A night to forget for the hosts in front of their fans.

92nd minute: De Vrij replaces Bastoni in the Inter backline. Benfica are waiting to make their changes.

90th minute: There will be a minimum of four additional minutes. Both sides are preparing late changes.

87th minute: Inter are keeping the ball and frustrating the home side as they look to see their two-goal lead through to full time. 

85th minute: The atmosphere inside the stadium is a lot quieter now as only the Inter fans are making some noise. A goal for Benfica will still make a big difference heading into the second leg.

82nd minute: GOALLLL!!!! Lukaku!!!!

US:

Inter get the second goal they wanted as Lukaku smashes the ball past Vladchodimos! The goalkeeper dives the right way but fails to get a hand to the strike. 

81st minute: PENALTY! Inter have a penalty as Mario handles the ball in the box after a cross from Dumfries.

80th minute: Michael Oliver is running over to the VAR monitor as Inter could have a penalty here!

78th minute: Inter almost score a second goal in identical fashion, but Vladchodimos makes a good save. Bastoni whips the ball toward the far post and Dumfries attacks it. He heads the ball into the ground and the goalkeeper pushes it away.

76th minute: Inzaghi will want his side to score at least one more goal before the end of the game, but the main priority will be to keep the lead. Inter are defending well at the moment.

73rd minute: Inter flood players forward on the counter and it is Barella driving forward with the ball. He chooses to shoot instead of passing to a team-mate, and it is the wrong choice as he completely misses the target.

70th minute: The tempo of the match is slowing down as Inter look to play on the counter-attack while Benfica patiently look for an opening.

66th minute: Vladchodimos makes a crucial save to stop Mkhitaryan from scoring! The midfielder tries to shoot low past the goalkeeper, but vladchodimos does well to close the angle down and make himself big.

64th minute: Benfica respond with an attacking change of their own as Neres replaces Florentino.

63rd minute: Lukaku, Correa, and Gosens all come on for Inter as Martinez, Dzeko and Dimarco make way. Both Martinez and Dimarco were one booking away from suspension.

60th minute: Benfica are doing well in their build-up play, but just lacking the end product they need to score. They will need to find the quality that helped them breeze past Club Brugge in the last round.

57th minute: WHAT A BLOCK! Dumfries makes a great diving block to stop Rafa from tapping the ball home for an equaliser. The ball deflects through to the winger and he pokes the ball on target, but Dumfries reacts quickly to keep Inter ahead.

55th minute: Benfica are reacting well to going a goal behind and attacking on the front foot. Inter however seem a lot more comfortable defending now that they have the lead.

51st minute: GOALLL!!! Barella!!! 

Inter score with their first shot on target as Barella heads the ball past Vladchodimos! Bastoni's cross into the box is simply world-class and Barella times his run to perfection to win the header while being completely unmarked.

UK:

US:

48th minute: Benfica are starting the second period with a lot of energy as Inter sit deep in their own half to try and soak up the pressure. 

46th minute: Martinez gets the second half underway for Inter at the Estadio da Luz.

Halftime: Benfica press higher up the pitch to stop Inter from scoring late in the half. Michael Oliver then blows his whistle as the match is goalless going into the break.

42nd minute: Dimarco plays a first-time cross after a great pass from Barella, but the defender's ball in is just behind both Inter strikers.

39th minute: Barella cuts onto his left foot and tries to find Dzeko in the box with a lofted pass. The striker times his run well to stay onside however he cannot get on the end of the pass.

37th minute: Rafa Silva draws a foul off Acerbi in a good position for Benfica. Grimaldo sends in a cross from the set-piece but it leads to nothing.

33rd minute: Morato makes a vital interception for Benfica to stop Dzeko from going through on goal! Martinez tries to pass to his attacking partner, but the defender reads the play well and comes away with the ball.

30th minute: There is a VAR check after the ball strikes Darmian on the arm in the penalty area, but his arm is in a natural position so the referee does not award a penalty.

29th minute: Dimarco and Dumfries are pushing very high up the field when attacking, causing an overload on both wings. Benfica seem comfortable enough defending the crosses for the time being. 

26th minute: Inter are moving the ball around patiently, but are struggling to combine in the final third of the pitch. Acerbi unleashes a powerful shot from range, but just misses the target with his effort.

22th minute: Antonio Silva receives the first yellow card of the game after a late challenge from behind on Martinez.

19th minute: The home fans inside the stadium are creating a lot of noise and the Benfica players are responding to it. Mario tries to volley the ball past Onana, but he drags his shot wide of the left post.

16th minute: SAVE! Onana makes a good save to stop Rafa Silva from scoring! The goalkeeper positions himself well and parries the ball away with his right arm. 

13th minute: Florentino tries his luck with a curling effort from outside of the box, but his effort flies over the bar. Both sides are starting well in this match.

11th minute: Rafa Silva takes on Darmian on the left wing and wins a corner for Benfica. Chiquinho takes an in-swinging corner only for Dumfries to head the ball away.

7th minute: Inter work a short corner and Brozovic sends in a cross, but he overhits his pass and Benfica have a goal kick.

4th minute: The hosts are enjoying a good spell of possession to start the game, but Inter are doing well to keep the ball away from their goal.

1st minute: Benfica get the game underway from the centre circle as English referee Michael Oliver is in charge of the match.

5 mins from kickoff: The players are in the tunnel and ready to make their way onto the pitch!

30 mins from kickoff: Neither of these two teams are favourites to go all the way, but they are certainly capable of causing an upset. 

70 mins from kickoff: Dzeko, Martinez, Bastoni, and Dimarco all come into the starting 11 for Inter. 

Gilberto and Morato both start in the Benfica defence. Guedes is able to make the bench.

90 mins from kickoff: Despite a narrow defeat against Porto in their last fixture, Benfica's record in all competitions has been fantastic this season.

120 mins from kickoff: The Champions League is BACK! Join us for live coverage of tonight's clash between two European heavyweights. Nope, it's not Bayern Munich vs Manchester City... it's Benfica vs Inter Milan!

Benfica vs Inter Milan lineups

Benfica manager Roger Schmidt makes two changes as Morato and Gilberto comes into the Benfica starting 11 in place of Otamendi and Bah.

Benfica starting lineup (4-3-3): Vladchodimos (GK) — Grimaldo, A. Silva, Morato, Gilberto— Florentino, Aursnes, Chiquinho — Mario, Ramos, R. Silva

Benfica subs (12): Gomes, Guedes, Verissimo, Musa, Ndour, Neres, Neves, Rodrigues, Schjeldrup, Soares, Tengstedt, Tome

Marcelo Brozovic and Lautaro Martinez were both rested on the weekend for this fixture while Milan Skriniar and Hakan Calhanoglu are both ruled out with injuries. 

Inter Milan starting lineup (3-5-2: Onana(GK) — Acerbi, Bastoni, Darmian — Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco — Martinez, Dzeko

Inter Milan subs (12): Asllani, Bellanova, Carboni, Cordaz, Correa, D'Ambrosio, De Vrij, Gagliardini, Gosens, Handanovic, Lukaku, Zanotti.

MORE: Benfica vs Inter live stream, TV channel, lineups

How to watch Benfica vs Inter Milan

  TV channel Streaming
Australia — Stan Sport
Canada — DAZN
Hong Kong beIN Xtra beIN Sports Connect
India Sony TEN 1 JioTV, Sony LIV
Malaysia beIN Xtra beIN Sports Connect
New Zealand — Spark Sport
Singapore beIN Xtra beIN Sports Connect
UK BT Sport 2 BT Sport site/app
USA — Paramount+,
ViX and ViX+

UK: The match will be broadcast on BT Sport 2 and streamed on BT Sport platforms.

USA: This match is available to fans in the USA and can be streamed on Paramount+, which has the English-language stream for subscribers. ViX carries a free Spanish-language stream and ViX+ has the Spanish-language stream for subscribers.

Canada: Every Champions League game streams live on DAZN.

Australia: Every match from the UEFA Champions League streams ad-free on Stan Sport, live and on demand.

Author(s)
Author Photo
Joel Sritharan
Joel Sritharan is a freelance writer for Sporting News UK. 
football
champions-league
Internazionale
Benfica
Benfica vs Internazionale
LATEST VIDEOS