Inzaghi hails Inter unity after Porto win: 'We all suffered together'

Simone Inzaghi hailed Inter's unity after the Nerazzurri held Porto at bay to secure their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Inter progress to the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition for the first time in 12 years, after a goalless draw at the Estadio do Dragao sealed a 1-0 victory over the team of Sergio Conceicao.

The visitors survived a flurry of late chances as Porto hit the woodwork twice in a row through Mehdi Taremi and Marko Grujic, while Denzel Dumfries blocked Ivan Mercano on the line.

And Inzaghi praised his players' efforts as they fought to win.

"We played a great game, the group got together and played a great game," he told Mediaset. “[We were] a great first half. In the last part of the match, we all suffered together – credit to this group.

“In football, luck matters relatively, [but] in both matches we earned the passage to the quarter-finals. Now it's right to take advantage of a long-missing achievement."

Henrikh Mkhitaryan also paid tribute to his team-mates, and the midfielder believes Inter have a real chance of getting into a deep run.

When asked if they can go all the way, he told Sky Sports: "You can always dream, we want to do our best. It's a great opportunity, Inter n haven't reached the quarter-finals for a long time, but you have to play with your head.

"We knew it would be very difficult. I want to congratulate my team-mates because we fought until the end. I hope this qualification will give us momentum for the next games.”

Meanwhile, Matteo Darmian was pleased with how the Nerazzurri reacted to their surprise 2-1 loss to lowly Spezia in Serie A on Friday.

"We entered the pitch with the right desire and the right malice," added the defender. “We are coming from a bad defeat; a lot of things have been said. It was the perfect night to catch up.

“We were able to suffer at the right time, and we brought home the result. An evening like this gives us so much confidence and awareness.”