Lukaku on target as Inter earn two-goal lead

Internazionale scored two second-half goals to earn a first-leg lead in their quarter-final clash with Benfica in Lisbon.

Both sides played out a close first half with neither team really creating any significant chances.

The breakthrough eventually came in the 51st minute as Inter scored with their very first effort on target. Alessandro Bastoni put in a great ball from the left that went to the far post where Nicolò Barella was able to finish.

Romelu Lukaku was brought on as a substitute by Simone Inzaghi with just over an hour gone in the game and gave the Nerazzurri a bigger lead to take back to Milan.

In the 77th minute, referee Michael Oliver was called over ot the monitor by the VAR where he saw the ball strike João Mário’s arm as the player blocked Denzel Dumfries    ‘ ball. 

The Benfica man can consider himself unlucky in the sense that it looked like the ball struck his head before hitting his arm, but he was perhaps caught out because his arm was high in the air.

About five minutes later, Lukaku eventually stepped up to take the resulting penalty and put the ball low into the bottom right corner just out of the reach of Odysseas Vlachodimos. 

That 2-0 result gives Inter a commanding lead for the second leg, made more impressive by the fact that they never really were much better than their opponents but they put in a very effective European performance.

xG: Benfica (1.40) 0-2 (1.65) Internazionale

Instant impact! Lukaku ⚽️#UCL pic.twitter.com/dz55bw6mZ0

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 11, 2023