In the side of the Champions League draw that has drawn the most intrigue, Benfica and Inter were the first teams to do battle, with the visiting Italian giants landing a potential terminal blow to the Portuguese club's hopes.

A 2-0 victory at the Estadio da Luz will take some of the domestic pressure off Simone Inzaghi's shoulders, and could set-up a mouth-watering Champions League semi-final clash with local rivals, AC Milan.

The visitors were much the better team throughout the first-leg, having four shots on target compared to Benfica's two.

Although, the match wasn't without its bright moments for the Lisbon club, who will believe they can score in Milan next week.

Ruthless cutting edge was the difference

In matches as tight as this, it is often the more experienced team that can block out the scenario and take their chances.

That proved to be the case as Benfica's young side missed their chances and Inter took theirs.

Rafa Silva forced a brilliant save from Andre Onana after 16 minutes, only for Inter to respond with a Francesco Acerbi shot fizzing just over the crossbar.

The first goal came in the 51st minute when Nicolo Barella jumped highest to convert a header into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Silva then spurned another opportunity, which told the story of the evening.

Denzel Dumfries was a constant threat on the right side and he almost made it 2-0 with a volley in the 78th minute.

Seconds later a handball from Joao Mario was referred to VAR and a decision was made to award the visitors a spot-kick.

Romelu Lukaku put his recent struggles to the back of his mind and made no mistake, firing an unstoppable penalty into the back of the net, ensuring the Italian side left Lisbon with a 2-0 lead in their back pocket.