A compromising defeat. Benfica lost to Inter (2-0) at the Estádio da Luz and will need to go to Milan to recover from a two-goal deficit if they want to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. For 27 years the nerazzurri did not win in Portugal (1996, against Boavista). On the 19th there is more at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.
With Morato slightly nervous in his first Champions League game – he replaced the suspended Otamendi – Benfica didn’t start particularly well, conceding a couple of missed passes in the first phase of the game’s build-up and only in the 13th minute did they make a first dangerous attack. movement. At 16″, he scored a goal. Grimaldo recovered in time to take his place as long as he is fit to take the field and created the imbalance that gave Rafa an excellent chance to make it 1-0. Onana did not allow him.
Inter arrived at Luz at the worst stage of the season, with six games without a win and Inzaghi could not count on Skriniar and Çalhanoglu, the Turkish midfielder was the best player on the field in the two games against FC Porto, but he knew how to to condition its exits from the beginning with the ball of the incarnations. The meeting with João Mário gave Inzaghi a certain advantage…
As the half hour passed, the Italians climbed higher and higher in the terrain, but without creating any real danger. Acerbi risked the shot from a great distance and even scared Vlachodimos. Dzeko got space from Morato, but couldn’t get to the detour. As the minutes passed, the calculating side of the Italians was clearly seen, with outrageous timing and lateral play going nowhere. Playing the second leg at home gave Inter a certain boost.
Roger Schmidt said in the preview of the game that it was necessary to learn from the defeat against FC Porto in order to do something positive against Inter, but the first half contradicted the German’s statement. And it was no coincidence that Florentino excelled in winning back the ball in the face of the early match disaster at the hands of Aursnes and João Mário’s attacking ineffectiveness (as happened in the derby).
Barella deserved the goal
With the score 0-0 at half time, everything was open for the second half, but the engineers came back with their original ideas and without changing the line-up. The difference was in the pace of Benfica, who was eventually betrayed by a quick move. Bastoni went up next to the left aisle and into a cross with a perfect curve that took the ball to Barella, who appeared at the far post and finished with a header. Vlachodimos could do nothing.
The goal silenced the more than 60,000 jumping poppies (read red fans), who shortly afterwards desperately put their hands to their heads with a move that only failed to score through a series of cuts and some bad luck in the mix. João Mário made a low cross, Aursnes failed to finish and Grimaldo hit the ball weakly. Amidst the massive confusion that ensued in the small area, the Italian defense managed to clear the ball and with it the danger of a draw.
While Benfica tried to react to the goal conceded, Inter showed that their intention was going the other way and they needed to slow down a bit and control the result. The point is that the options Inzaghi had on the bench were both to pause the game and to speed it up. That was exactly what Schmidt had warned ahead of the Champions League quarter-final when he said the opposition had many options and could vary their style of play for 90 minutes without losing quality.
And after seeing Lukaku, Joaquín Correa and Gosens come on all at once, the German coach responded by taking Florentino off the field to bring in David Neres. And if the game called for Neres’ explosiveness, creativity and speed, the departure of the best player from the red team could only be seen as a strategy in view of the second leg, as the midfielder was in danger – if he received a yellow card could not play in Milan on the 19th.
It gave the impression that the coach was already thinking about the second game and labeled the first as lost. The only reason Barella didn’t make it 2-0 was because Vlachodimos fearlessly stood in his way. The goalkeeper also prevented Dumfries’ goal, but could do nothing against Lukaku, who gave the Italians a comfortable advantage to receive Benfica from the penalty spot (punishing João Mário’s hand on the ball).
Source: DN
