UCL: Inter Milan in control of quarter-final

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Benfica 0 - 2 Inter Milan

Romelu Lukaku scored an 82nd-minute penalty as Inter Milan put themselves in a strong position to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League after a deserved win away to Benfica.

Nicolo Barella's downward header gave Inter the lead in the quarter-final first leg in Lisbon.

Benfica struggled to dictate play in front of their own fans as Inter produced a defensive masterclass in Lisbon. This was almost reminiscent of their 2010 triumph with Jose Mourinho. 

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Benfica 0 - 2 Inter Milan

Rafa Silva was denied by Andre Onana's first-half save before Inter's Netherlands defender Denzel Dumfries produced a crucial block from close range as Benfica pushed for an equaliser.

The Italian visitors wrapped up their win when substitute Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea, scored from the spot after former Inter player Joao Mario handled.

Premier League referee Michael Oliver awarded the penalty after watching the incident on the pitchside monitor, with replays showing the ball struck the side of Mario's head before hitting his hand.

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Simone Inzaghi's side will fancy their chances of finishing the job in front of their own fans in the return leg on April 19th. Their fans will be dreaming of  return to the top of the European game. Can they do it though?

Liam, a Manchester United fan, watched the match. He told us: "A very good professional performance from Inter. I'm not sure how manyproblems they will cause some of the other teams left in the Champions League, but they'll be very pleased with that performance."

They took advantage of a hesitant Benfica to take a firm hold of the tie.

Barella's goal came after an excellent cross by Alessandro Bastoni, with the Italy midfielder heading it back across the keeper and into the net.

It was Inter's first attempt on target. Benfica keeper Odisseas Vlachodimos prevented further damage by saving from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

This was Benfica's 13th European game of the season after starting their Champions League campaign at the third qualifying round stage back in August.

But they did not create enough and face a mammoth task to turn the tie around after Lukaku wrapped up victory.

The Belgium forward had missed out on a starting place to 37-year-old Edin Dzeko but made an impact from the spot after beating the keeper for pace and power.

Lauren, a Chelsea fan, was really pleased for Lukaku. She told us: "After what he has been through, I'm really happy he has another goal. I still think he can do a great job for Chelsea next season."

There was still time for Benfica to reduce the deficit. However, Goncalo Ramos' 89th-minute attempt was kept out by Onana on a wonderful night for Inter.

Highlights and more reaction

You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below. Footage from BT Sport. Benfica vs Inter (0-2) | Nerazzurri pick up commanding first-leg lead! | Champions League Highlights - YouTube

Let's have a look at some of the best comments on the above video.

Aidy Gooner was highly critical of the decision to award Inter Milan a penalty. He said: "The fact that the Inter players didn't really call for the penalty should give the referee the clue that it's not handball, yet they avoidably and stupidly decided to stop the game and end the tie."

Thomas Johnson was impressed by Inter Milan's performance and is puzzled by their 5th placed position in Serie A. He posted: "Watching that last night, and also when Inter beat Napoli 1-0 in Serie A (Napoli’s first league defeat of the season), I must ask how are Inter currently 5th in Serie A? I was impressed with how they played, their passing particularly through Brozovic, and the team’s organisation in its 3-5-2 formation, which enabled Bastoni to get forward and put in 2 beautiful crosses."

This Twitter user was highly critical of the Benfica players and fans. 

The tweet translates as: "Everyone talking about the weak football that was played yesterday by our glorious team but no one talking about the weak performance of the public itself, they want to watch football quietly stay at home, they are in the stadium, they are part of the show, push for them, they have so many victories they already gave us."

More Champions League news and stories can be found here: UCL and UEL (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) 

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