Inter Milan secured a historic Champions League semi-final with arch-rivals AC Milan despite being held by Benfica at an ecstatic San Siro.
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.
More to follow.
Line-ups
Inter Milan
Formation 3-5-2
- 24Onana
- 36Darmian
- 15Acerbi
- 95BastoniSubstituted forD’Ambrosioat 80′minutes
- 2Dumfries
- 23BarellaSubstituted forÇalhanogluat 76′minutes
- 77Brozovic
- 22Mkhitaryan
- 32DimarcoSubstituted forGosensat 80′minutes
- 10La MartÃnezSubstituted forCorreaat 76′minutes
- 9DzekoSubstituted forLukakuat 76′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Handanovic
- 5Gagliardini
- 6de Vrij
- 8Gosens
- 11Correa
- 12Bellanova
- 14Asllani
- 20Çalhanoglu
- 21Cordaz
- 33D’Ambrosio
- 45Carboni
- 90Lukaku
Benfica
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 99Vlachodimos
- 2Moraes JúniorSubstituted forNeres Camposat 45′minutesBooked at 90mins
- 66António Silva
- 30Otamendi
- 3Grimaldo
- 61Morris LuÃs
- 22Lima Silva MachadoSubstituted forMusaat 80′minutesBooked at 81mins
- 20João MárioSubstituted forSchjelderupat 89′minutes
- 27Fernandes Ferreira da SilvaBooked at 49minsSubstituted forGonçalves Nevesat 80′minutes
- 8Aursnes
- 88Gonçalo RamosSubstituted forGonçalo Guedesat 74′minutes
Substitutes
- 4VerÃssimo da Silva
- 7Neres Campos
- 15Gonçalo Guedes
- 19Tengstedt
- 21Schjelderup
- 23Ristic
- 24Jumpe Soares
- 33Musa
- 73Ndour
- 75Nogueira Gomes
- 87Gonçalves Neves
- 91Rodrigues da Silva
- Referee:
- Carlos del Cerro Grande
- Attendance:
- 75,380
Live Text
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Match ends, Inter Milan 3, Benfica 3.
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Second Half ends, Inter Milan 3, Benfica 3.
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David Neres (Benfica) is shown the yellow card.
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Goal! Inter Milan 3, Benfica 3. Petar Musa (Benfica) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal following a corner.
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Corner, Benfica. Conceded by Danilo D’Ambrosio.
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Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan).
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Substitution, Benfica. Andreas Schjelderup replaces João Mário.
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Attempt missed. João Mário (Benfica) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Gonçalo Guedes.
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Goal! Inter Milan 3, Benfica 2. António Silva (Benfica) header from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Alejandro Grimaldo with a cross following a set piece situation.
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Delay over. They are ready to continue.
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Delay in match because of an injury André Onana (Inter Milan).
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David Neres (Benfica) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Robin Gosens (Inter Milan).
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David Neres (Benfica) hits the right post with a left footed shot from the centre of the box.
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Petar Musa (Benfica) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Petar Musa (Benfica).
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Hakan Çalhanoglu (Inter Milan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Substitution, Benfica. Petar Musa replaces Chiquinho.
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Substitution, Benfica. João Neves replaces Rafa.
