Benfica and Inter face each other this Tuesday in the first leg of the 2022-23 Champions League quarterfinals and coincidentally both starred the final of the said tournament (then the European Cup) on May 27, 1965, with the Milanese team, defending its crown, as the winner (1-0 at San Siro, goal by Jai da Costa). In that Inter, the only Spanish Ballon d’Or, Luis Suárezunder the command of Helenio Herrera. At Benfica, Eusebiolegend of legends.
This has weighed on Da Luz’s team the ‘curse of Bela Guttmann’ (coach who said, in 1962, that without him Benfica would never again be European champions). And so it happened.
But let’s go back to the present. This Tuesday Benfica He cannot count on the Argentine world champion in his defense Nicholas Otamendi, allowed. Morato will comfort him. Gilberto will replace the injured Bah.
Benfica-Inter
Da Luz, 21.00 (MLC2)
Benfica: Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Antonio Silva, Morato or Veríssimo, Grimaldo; Florentino, Chiquinho; Joao Mario, Rafa Silva, Aursnes; Goncalo Ramos
coaches: roger schmidt
inter: masturbation; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez
coaches: simone inzaghi
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
Inter has 3 champions (1964, 1964, 2010). Benfica, 2 (1961, 1962). Both are now dreaming of the semifinals. The Lisbon team, where he plays Goncalo Ramos, reached the first leg after losing their classic against Porto (1-2) on Friday. Benfica, leading Portugal, has 7 points more than the ‘dragoes’.
Joao Mario, with pending accounts
Benfica is very strong in this Champions Leaguein which group stage they finished first PSG and Juventus. Roger Schmidt’s men have 6 wins, 2 draws and no losses. An ex of Inter, Joao Mario, will be one of Benfica’s great assets today: he has scored 23 goals and 11 assists this season in all competitions. Furthermore joao mario He has pending accounts at Inter, where he experienced “the worst period of my career”, as he told A Bola in 2020.
Inter returned to the quarterfinals Champions League after 12 years, but it’s 5 games without a win. They could not go past 1-1 at home to Salernitana on Friday and are out of the Champions League zone in Serie A, 5th, one point behind 4th, Milan. He Inter he had to react and there was certainly no better time for it than now in Da Luz. It has casualties of Hakim Calhanoglu and Milan Skriniar.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
