UEFA Champions League | Italy | Italian Leauge
Roger Schmidt, coach of Benfica, considered that the arbitration decisions harmed his team in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Benfica had hosted Inter Milan at the “La Loche” stadium, to suffer a 2-0 loss.
The second goal for the guests came through a penalty kick that Romelu Lukaku successfully scored in the 82nd minute, after the referee awarded a handball against Joao Mario, the star of Benfica’s midfield.
Schmidt commented, “We had the misfortune of awarding a penalty kick against us, when a penalty kick, or two penalty kicks, could have been awarded to us.”
“But in the end, we have to accept the result,” he said, quoted by the Yard Parker sports website.
Schmidt praised his team’s performance in the match, stressing, “I think both teams had their share of chances, but we didn’t take advantage of our chances, unfortunately.”
And the German coach continued, “We stayed in the match, and the players gave everything they had, and we created some good chances for ourselves, except that we conceded the second goal from the penalty kick. That is the story of the match.”
And about the return match, which will be hosted by the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, Schmidt said, “Being 2-0 behind at home and among your fans is not a good thing, but we are between the quarter-finals. Of course, we will go there with the aim of winning.”
