Topics: UEFA Champions League, Inter Milan, Benfica, Romelu Lukaku, Simeone Inzaghi, Jose Mourinho
The Italian coach inspired the Nerazzurri to a feat which has not been seen in over a decade.

Simone Inzaghi has successfully matched one of Jose Mourinho's Champions League milestones at Inter Milan after leading the Nerazzurri to a remarkable victory on Tuesday night. The 47-year-old Italian coach became the first manager of the Serie A club since Mourinho to win a Champions League quarter-final tie.

In what was expected to be a potential win for Benfica, Inter came up strong and delivered the goods to complete the upset. The Nerazzurri arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, on the back of a poor run of form after failing to pick up at lease a win any of their past six games. However, they capitalised on Benfica's inefficiency to get into a promising position.

Nicolo Barella opened the scoring in the 51st minute, jumping to head home an excellent cross by Alessandro Bastoni past Benfica's goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos. The Italian midfielder and his teammates then sealed a crucial win when substitute and on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku, scored from the spot after ex-Nerazzurri Joao Mario handled the ball in the Benfica area.

With the result, Inzaghi matched Mourinho's feat of winning a quarter-final tie in the 2009/2010 season. It is worth noting that Inter Milan subsequently managed to beat their semifinal opponents and eventually, went on to become champions. Additionally, the 2-0 result meant that Inter have four consecutive clean sheets in the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the first time in their history.

At the moment, Simone Inzaghi's side will be optimistic about their chances of sealing the win in front of their own fans in the return leg on 19 April, 2023.