Inter wins 2-0 at Benfica in Champions League quarterfinals

LISBON, Portugal — Inter Milan ended its streak of poor results with a 2-0 win at Benfica in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku scored second-half goals at the Stadium of Light to give Inter its first victory in more than a month and move the Italian team into good position to reach the semifinals of the European competition for the first time in more than a decade.

The second leg will be next week in Milan. Manchester City defeated Bayern Munich 3-0 at home in the first leg of the other quarterfinal on Tuesday.

It was Benfica’s first Champions League loss in 13 matches this season. It started the competition in the third qualifying round and was one of the surprises of the competition so far after going on an unbeaten run to win a difficult group that included Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

Inter was winless in six matches in all competitions, with its last victory against Lecce in the Italian league in March.

Benfica was coming off a loss to rival Porto in the Portuguese league but had won 13 of its last 15 matches in all competitions since then.

Trying to win five consecutive Champions League games for the first time since 1990, the hosts controlled the pace but it was Inter that struck with a header by Barella off a long cross by Alessandro Bastoni into the area in the 51st minute.

Substitute Lukaku added to Inter's lead by converting an 82nd-minute penalty kick that was determined by video review for a handball by former Inter player João Mário inside the area.

The winner of the series between Inter and Benfica will face AC Milan or Napoli in the semifinals.