MILAN: Italian powerhouse Inter defeated Portuguese club Benfica in an exciting quarterfinal second leg at San Siro to advance to the Champions League semifinal against local rival AC Milan.

A determined Benfica held Inter to a 3-3 tie, but they had done enough in the first leg to progress 5-3 overall.

A superb goal from Nicol2 Barella, who raced forward, exchanged passes with Lautaro Martinez, and then curled in with his weaker left foot, helped Inter increase their 2-0 advantage from the first leg within a quarter of an hour.

Inter attempted to extend their lead by having Martnez's goal disallowed, but Benfica tied the game when Fredrik Aursnes displayed exceptional height to expertly head in a cross from the right flank.

The visitors sent on David Neres at the break, and they came out firing in the second half. However, just before the midway point of the half, the home team scored the decisive third goal of the game when Martnez smashed in Federico Dimarco's low cross across the box.

Joaqun Correa, an Inter substitute, then joined the action after receiving a feed from Dimarco and cutting inside before skillfully converting via the far post.

However, the drama was far from over as Antônio Silva headed in to cut Benfica's deficit before Petar Musa blasted in through a mass of defenders to keep his team from losing four matches in a row.

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