• Wednesday, 25 December 2024

City into semis after draw at Bayern, Inter set up derby with Milan

City into semis after draw at Bayern, Inter set up derby with Milan

A 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich was enough for Manchester City to seal their spot in the Champions League semi-finals, while Inter Milan set up a derby with AC Milan after conceding a 3-3 draw to Benfica on Wednesday.

Inter have reached a Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2010, when they claimed the title, and will now meet cross-town rivals Milan in the semi-finals, while City will face title holders Real Madrid.

"Milan in the semi-final will be a special match and we are looking forward to it," Inter defender Denzel Dumfries said.

City did their homework at home with a 3-0 win in the first-leg but endured pressure from Bayern in the first half.

City top scorer Erling Haaland sent a spot-kick well over the crossbar in the 38th minute, but made up for it in the 57th as he finished off a counter-attack.

Joshua Kimmich didn't waste his penalty in the 82nd, but that was already too later for the Bavarians to fight for a comeback.

"We are exhausted. I don't know how we recover to play against Sheffield United [in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday]," City coach Pep Guardiola told BT Sport.

Inter, meanwhile, brought a 2-0 triumph from Lisbon and increased their advantage when Nicolo Barella curled in a beauty in the 14th to break the deadlock in the second-leg game.

There were hopes for Benfica after Fredrik Aursnes's header levelled things up in the 38th, but these were gone when Lautaro Martinez's clinical first-time finish found the back of the net in the 65th and Joaquin Correa made it 3-1 in the 78th.

Late goals from Antonio Silva and Petar Musa weren't enough for Benfica after their home defeat last week.

Bayern got close to the opener in the 17th when Leroy Sané had only keeper Ederson to beat but sent his effort too wide.

Just a minute later there was a scare for the German record champions when defender Dayot Upamecano saw a red card for a foul on Haaland in a clear goal chance, but that was overturned after the Norwegian striker was called offside.

City got their big chance once they were awarded a penalty after after a handball from Upamecano in the 38th. But Haaland wasted the spot-kick as Bayern held on to their hopes.

Bayern were once again close to scoring shortly before the break following a counter-attack, but Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting had his shot blocked, while Kingsley Coman's rebound was also blocked.

Haaland was denied by Yann Sommer in the 55th, but ultimately beat the keeper just two minutes later to put City ahead.

"The finishing from Erling was really, really good. He is so young. The experience that we have in this competition, the players feel it a lot," Guardiola said.

Kimmich pulled one back for Bayern from the spot after a handball from Manuel Akanji but there was no more time left on the clock to fight for a turnaround.

"It is really annoying that we didn’t take the lead with all the chances that we had. I don’t think we needed a miracle today. We could have scored three goals or more," he told broadcasters DAZN.

Despite the elimination, Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, who took over just over a month ago after Julian Nagelsmann was dismissed, said he was "very satisfied" with his team's performance.

"I think we had City on the hook again, even more so than in Manchester. But, like last week, we never had that moment of luck which you need to turn this around," he said.

Inter seemed in control after Barella got their opener in the 14th, but a defensive lap allowed Benfica to get back in the game with an equalizer from Aursnes in the 38th.

The Italians got back on track after the break with Martinez and Correa putting the tie out of reach from Benfica.

But they got too comfortable and allowed the Portuguese side to answer with goals from Silva and Musa to at least claim a creditable 3-3 draw, but that was not enough due to the damages in the first leg.

"We had the ambition to reach the semi-finals and we didn't, but the team gave everything on the pitch," Benfica defender Grimaldo said.

Photo: EPA