MILANO. Inter overcomes Benfica 1-0 after M. Thuram scored just 1 goal (62′).
The match was played at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milano on Tuesday and it started at 9:00 pm local time. The referee was Danny Desmond Makkelie with the assistance of Hessel Steegstra and Jan de Vries. The 4th official was Allard Lindhout. The weather was overcast clouds. The temperature was hot at 25.14 degrees Celsius or 77.25 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 49%.
Match Statistics
Ball possession
The ball possession was not so different. Inter was in possession of the ball for 47% of the time vs. Benfica that controlled the ball for 53% of the time.
Attitude and shots
Inter was putting more pressure with 65 dangerous attacks and 18 shots of which 6 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Inter won the match.
Inter shot 18 times, 6 on target, 8 off target. Talking about the opposition, Benfica shot 5 times, 2 on target, 1 off target.
Cards
Inter received 4 yellow cards (Kristjan Asllani, Lautaro Martínez, Denzel Dumfries and Nicolò Barella). On the other side, Benfica didn’t receive any yellow card.
Match Timeline
Standings
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
After this encounter, Inter has 4 points to occupy the 2nd place in the standings. Talking about the opposition, Benfica stays with 0 points (4th).
Next matches
In the next match in the Champions League, Inter will host Salzburg on the 24th of October with a 2-0 head to head record in favor of Inter (0 draws).
Benfica will host Real Sociedad on the 24th of October with a 0-0 head to head record.
Inter – Formation
Inter started with a 3-5-2 line-up (3-5-2).
The manager Simone Inzaghi decided to play with the following team: Yann Sommer , Benjamin Pavard , Francesco Acerbi , Alessandro Bastoni , Denzel Dumfries , Nicolò Barella , Hakan Calhanoglu , Henrikh Mkhitaryan , Federico Dimarco , Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram .
The home team had on the bench: Stefan de Vrij, Juan Cuadrado, Raffaele Di Gennaro, Davy Klaassen, Kristjan Asllani, Carlos Augusto, Yann Bisseck, Matteo Darmian , Amadou Makhtar Sarr, Alexis Sánchez and Emil Audero.
Inter could not rely on the presence of Davy Klaassen (injured).
Substitutions
Inter made 5 changes: Nicolò Barella for Davy Klaassen (90′), Federico Dimarco for Carlos Augusto (84′), Marcus Thuram for Alexis Sánchez (73′), Denzel Dumfries for Matteo Darmian (73′) and Hakan Calhanoglu for Kristjan Asllani (84′).
Best player: Nicolò Barella
The player that probably impressed the most for Inter was Nicolò Barella even if he didn’t score the decisive goal.
His rating is with 45 passes (84% accurate) and 4 key passes. He was won 7 duels out of 12. He performed 3 crosses.
Benfica – Formation
Benfica started with a 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).
Roger Schmidt played with: Anatoliy Trubin , Alexander Bah , Nicolás Otamendi , Morato , Juan Bernat , João Neves , Orkun Kökcü , Ángel Di María , Rafa , Fredrik Aursnes and David Neres .
These were the players on the bench: Petar Musa , Arthur Cabral, David Jurásek, Gonçalo Guedes, Casper Tengstedt, João Mário, Chiquinho , Samuel Soares, Tomás Araújo , Léo Kokubo, Tiago Gouveia and Florentino.
Benfica could not rely on the presence of Tomás Araújo (injured) and David Jurásek (injured).
Substitutions
Benfica made 5 changes: Alexander Bah for Tomás Araújo (22′), Ángel Di María for David Jurásek (80′), Juan Bernat for Arthur Cabral (80′), Orkun Kökcü for Petar Musa (69′) and Rafa for Chiquinho (69′).
Best player: Nicolás Otamendi
The player that probably impressed the most for Benfica was Nicolás Otamendi.
His rating is with 59 passes (85% accurate) and 0 key passes. He was won 5 duels out of 6.
Results of the day
These are the results of the day in the Champions League.
- FC Union Berlin – Sporting Braga – 2-3
- Salzburg – Real Sociedad – 0-2
- Manchester United – Galatasaray – 2-3
- FC Copenhagen – FC Bayern München – 1-2
- Lens – Arsenal – 2-1
- PSV – Sevilla – 2-2
- Napoli – Real Madrid – 2-3
- Inter – Benfica – 1-0