LISBON (Reuters) – Benfica coach Roger Schmidt insisted all was not lost even with his side in perilous danger of Champions League elimination after losing 2-0 at home to Inter Milan in their quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday
Second-half goals from Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku saw the Italian outfit take a giant step towards the last four while leaving the Portuguese league leaders with it all to do.
“Being 2-0 down at home is not good, but we are at halftime in the tie,” Schmidt told reporters at the Estadio da Luz. “Of course we can go to Milan to win.
“We had good moments but we also had bad luck with the penalty and we could have had a penalty or two ourselves. It’s football.”
Barella scored with a powerful header in a sweeping attacking move to give Inter a deserved 51st minute lead but Benfica skipper Joao Mario was unfortunate to give away the penalty with a handball in the 82nd.
“It was a tough game. I think both teams had their chances. We didn’t take advantage of ours, unfortunately,” added German-born Schmidt.
“We stayed in the game, the players gave everything. We created good moments, but we conceded the second goal from the penalty spot. That’s the story of the game.”
Tuesday’s loss was only the third of the season for Benfica but their second in a row. They lost 2-1 at home to closest challengers Porto in the league last Friday, which cut their runaway lead in the standings to seven points.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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