Inter Milan stormed back from three goals down to draw 3-3 away to Benfica after Joao Mario’s first-half hat-trick.
The Portuguese international bagged a brace inside the first 15 minutes and netted a third just after the half-hour mark to put Benfica on course for their first win in the group stages.
Inter Milan, who had already qualified, sparked a second-half fightback when Marko Arnautovic pulled a goal back six minutes after the break before Davide Frattesi’s 58th-minute goal gave the away side more hope.
The comeback was complete with 18 minutes to go when Alexis Sanchez netted a penalty before Antonio Silva saw red late on for Benfica.
The Portuguese side opened the scoring in the fifth minute after a looped ball into the box was headed down by Casper Tengstedt into the path of Mario, who lashed home from close range.
Inter almost had an equaliser five minutes later but Kristjan Asllani’s effort from outside the box was well saved by Anatoliy Trubin.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 15th minute when Tengstedt capitalised on some lazy Inter possession and drilled a low ball into the box which fell nicely for Mario to poke home.
Benfica made it three in the 34th minute and Tengstedt was once again the creator, this time he lifted a ball into the six-yard box and Mario was on hand to pounce and hit the first Champions League hat-trick of his career.
Inter started the second period with much more intent than the first and were denied when Carlos Augusto’s powerful effort was turned behind by Trubin and the Ukrainian shot stopper was on hand to push Sanchez’s free-kick over the crossbar a couple of minutes later.
The away side cut the deficit to two goals in the 51st minute when Yann Aurel Bisseck’s header was pushed into the path of Arnautovic who prodded in from close range.
Inter grabbed their second just before the hour mark when Francesco Acerbi’s cross was wonderfully volleyed home by Frattesi to make it 3-2.
The visitors had a chance to equalise after Marcus Thuram was brought down by Nicolas Otamendi inside the area and Sanchez sent Trubin the wrong way from the resulting spot-kick to dramatically level things up at three apiece.
Benfica almost regained their lead in the 82nd minute after Di Maria’s curling effort from outside the area looked to be heading into the top corner but Emil Audero palmed behind for a corner.
The home side were then reduced to 10 men a couple of minutes later. Antonio Silva lunged in late on Nicolo Barella and his yellow card was upgraded to a red after a VAR check.
Inter had a chance to snatch it late on but Barella’s first-time effort from inside the box was lashed against the post before Trubin held on to Federico Dimarco’s second shot as both sides took a share of the spoils.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
