Sports
Benfica vs Inter Milan: Prediction and Preview
With our Benfica vs Inter Milan prediction and preview, we look ahead to the first leg of this UEFA Champions League quarter-final at the Estádio da Luz, Lisbon.
Inter Milan Vs. Benfica: The Quick Hits
The Opta supercomputer rates Benfica 46% ahead of Inter Milan in this UCL match.
Benfica’s 20-game unbeaten streak in 2022-23 ended this weekend when they lost to FC Porto.
In their previous three encounters, including the 1965 European Cup final, Inter Milan has never lost to Benfica.
Game Preview
Portuguese Primeira Liga pioneer Benfica will face Serie A monsters Internazionale in this match, expecting to end a winless grouping against them.
Benfica has lost all three of their competitive games against Inter so far.
Losing to them in the 1965 European Cup final and failing in the 2003-2004 UEFA Cup round of 16 stages over two legs (one draw, one loss).
Internazionale eliminated another of Portugal’s “big three” opponents in the previous round.
In their last-16 matchup with FC Porto, Simone Inzaghi’s team prevailed 1-0 overall over both legs.
Benfica has crushed a Serie A club two times in the UEFA Champions Association this season.
With victories against Juventus at home and on the road in the group stage. Before the campaign in 2022-23.
In the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, they had only won two of 11 matches against Italian teams.
When the Last Match Happened
Internazionale 4-3 Benfica: 25 March 2004 (UEFA Cup)
The last time these two teams met in a competitive game was 19 years ago, in a seven-goal thriller in March 2004.
The two teams met again two weeks later at the San Siro for a chance to advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup after drawing 0-0 in the first leg in Lisbon.
Nuno Gomes, a Portuguese striker, gave Benfica the lead, and Obafemi Martins equalized just before halftime.
Before Gomes added a second, goals from Alvaro Recoba, Christian Vieri, and Martins gave Inter a 4-1 lead.
Tiago made it 4-3 to set up a cheeky completion for the Italian goliaths.
Inter lost to Marseille 2-0 overall to reach the quarterfinals.
In the 1965 UEFA Champions League/European Cup final, these two teams had never met before.
After winning the European Cup in 1963-94 with a 3-1 victory over Real Madrid, Internazionale won their second title.
1965 last saw Bury enjoy the home benefits, with the previous being played at the San Siro, Milan.
Jair da Costa’s first-half goal gave them a 1-0 victory over Benfica, who beat them twice in 1960-61 and 1961-62.
Recent Performance
Benfica enters this match, having suffered their first defeat since 2023 (excluding penalties).
Despite leading 1-0 thanks to an own goal by Diogo Costa, the Eagles lost 2-1 at home to rival FC Porto.
Benfica lost for the first time in league play since December 30 at SC Braga (3-0) thanks to goals from Porto’s Mateus Uribe and Mehdi Taremi.
It was their most memorable cutthroat home loss after 20 games unbeaten there.
In addition, it marked their first defeat at the Estádio da Luz since a 1-0 loss to Porto in May 2022, also by a single goal.
However, Benfica scored in the defeat on Saturday, making it 21 consecutive home goals in all competitions.
After finishing second in Group C behind Bayern Munich but ahead of Barcelona and Viktoria Plze, Inter Milan advanced through the UCL group stages.
The Serie A team then beat FC Porto in the round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinal match against Benfica. They won the first leg 1-0 at home and held on for a goalless draw in Portugal to go to the next round.
On the tiebreaker of away goals scored, Benfica beat out Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain to win Group H, surprising many.
In addition, they won the standings ahead of Israeli club Maccabi Haifa and Serie A team Juventus.
They then defeated Club Brugge in Belgium 7-1 overall in the last 16, winning the second leg 5-1 at home to advance to this quarterfinal match.
Key players are:
Benfica’s Gonçalo Ramos appears to be the next player in SL Benfica’s long line of outstanding talents, with their top scorer in excellent form in 2022-23.
This season, the 21-year-old striker has scored 25 goals in all competitions, 17 of which have come in league play and none from penalties.
In the Primeira Liga in 2022-23, only teammate Joo Mário has scored as many goals, and seven of those goals have come from penalties.
Inter: With 17 goals, Lautaro Martnez is Inter’s leading scorer across all competitions in 2022-23.
While he poses a significant threat to opponents as the Serie A club’s creative spark, only Nicol Barella (54) has produced more open-play opportunities across all competitions this season than the Argentine, who won the 2022 World Cup (46).
However, Martnez’s recent performance could have been better in his nine previous competitive appearances for the club.
He has only scored once and assisted on goals (658 minutes), and he has been left on the bench in Inter’s last two league matches.
