Inter 3-3 Benfica (Agg 5-3): Inter book Milan derby in UCL semis despite draw
Inter Milan secured a historic Champions League semi-final with arch-rivals AC Milan despite being held by Benfica at an ecstatic San Siro.
2022/2023 UEFA Champions League
3 (5) - 3 (3)
Leading 2-0 from the first leg in Lisbon, Inter increased their aggregate lead following Nicolo Barella's sumptuous finish before a bullet header by Fredrik Aursnes gave Benfica hope.
Argentina World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez and substitute Joaquin Correa made it 5-1 on aggregate before Benfica scored two late goals through Antonio Silva and Petar Musa.
Inter have lost four of their past five games in Serie A to drop out of the Champions League places, but Simone Inzaghi's side can now look forward to two mouth-watering matches against AC Milan - who knocked out Napoli on Tuesday - for a place in the final.
The hosts looked to be cruising when Italy midfielder Barella made it 3-0 on aggregate after creating space for himself inside the box before producing a wonderful curling finish.
But Benfica were not done and Norway midfielder Aursnes kept the tie alive with a powerful header.
The damage from the first leg was too much, however, as Martinez prodded home Federico Dimarco's cross before Correa netted two minutes after coming on.
To their credit, Benfica kept going and Silva made it 3-2 on the night before substitute Musa equalised deep into stoppage time.
However, it was not enough to stop Inter from booking their place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2010 - when they won the competition under Jose Mourinho.
Match Events
14' GOAL! Inter 1-0 Benfica (Barella)
29' What a save from Onana！
31' Foul! Lautaro goal disallowed
38' GOAL! Inter 1-1 Benfica (Fredrik Aursnes)
49' Yellow Card! Rafa booked
65' GOAL! Inter 2-1 Benfica (Lautaro)
78' GOAL! Inter 3-1 Benfica (Correa)
86' GOAL! Inter 3-2 Benfica (António Silva)
95' GOAL! Inter 3-3 Benfica (Petar Musa)
Line-ups
Inter XI: Darmian, Dzeko, Mkhitaryan, Acerbi, Brozovic, Dimarco, Barella, Dumfries, Onana, Lautaro, Bastoni
Subs: Handanovic, Alex Cordaz, Lukaku, De Vrij, D'Ambrosio, Calhanoglu, Correa, Gagliardini, Gosens, Bellanova, Kristjan Asllani, Valentín Carboni
Benfica XI: Otamendi, Odysseas Vlachodimos, Gilberto, Alejandro Grimaldo, Mario, Fredrik Aursnes, Rafa, Chiquinho, Florentino, Gonçalo Ramos, António Silva
Subs: Guedes, Mihailo Ristić, Lucas Veríssimo, Petar Musa, Neres, Casper Tengstedt, Morato, Samuel Soares, Andreas Schjelderup, Cher Ndour, André Gomes, João Neves
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