Benfica midfielder Joao Mario scored three goals in the home match of the fifth round of the Champions League group stage against Inter (3:3).
The 30-year-old Portuguese scored the visitors’ goals in the 5th, 13th and 34th minutes of the match. For Mario, these are the first goals in the current Champions League.
It is noteworthy that Joao Mario scored against his former team. The Portuguese was an Inter player for five years, from 2016 to 2021. In the 2018/19 season, Mario was loaned to Lokomotiv Moscow. He played 22 matches for the Railwaymen, in which he scored one goal and made seven assists.
Despite Mário’s effective performance, Benfica were unable to hold on to the winning score and missed out on their first win in the group stage. In the second half, Inter scored three goals against the Eagles, one of them scored by Marko Arnautovic. The 34-year-old Austrian achieved an interesting achievement by scoring in the Champions League for the first time in 13 years. The striker last scored in the tournament in 2010 as a Werder player.
Inter had previously secured their place in the Champions League playoffs. Benfica took their first point in the group stage and are still in contention for a place in the Europa League playoffs. To do this, the Portuguese team needs to beat Salzburg in the final round away from home with a difference of at least two goals.
2023-11-30 06:38:16
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