Simone Inzaghi believes Inter have achieved "something special" by qualifying from a Champions League group that also contained Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
Inter thrashed Viktoria Plzen 4-0 in San Siro on Wednesday to confirm their place in the last 16, with the victory putting them out of Barcelona's reach.
When the draw was made, most felt Inter were the outsiders with Bayern and big-spending Barca expected to go through.
But Inter took four points from two games against the Blaugrana, results that ultimately proved crucial in beating Xavi's men to qualification.
Inter secured their progress with a match to spare, leaving Inzaghi elated with an achievement that he feels goes beyond his previous expectations.
"To achieve this goal, the first of the season, we had to do something special and we did it," he told Amazon Prime.
"We have grown from game to game. The opener with Bayern was tough but then we had a double-header with Barcelona that gave us a lot of belief. We are happy for the club and for our fans.
"There was hope. We knew we had ended up in a very difficult group because Barcelona and Bayern are very strong.
"We went beyond expectations, qualifying with a game to go. You have to give the boys a big round of applause."
Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring return from injury was the icing on the cake for Inter, who were already 3-0 up when the Belgian came on in the 83rd minute.
Lukaku – who had been out for two months – scored four minutes after his introduction, and Inzaghi is hopeful of Marcelo Brozovic following the striker in coming back into the fold very soon.
"He's doing great," Inzaghi said of Brozovic, who has been absent for a month with a thigh injury.
"Playing every three days, we need everyone. Now Lukaku is back, we'll try to include Brozovic in the next few days.
"We missed them in this period because when you play every three days you must have the possibility to change personnel."
Al-Riyadh 0-1 Al-Nassr: Mane hands visitors bragging rights
Sadio Mane's first-half strike ensured Al-Nassr maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 1-0 win over rivals Al-Riyadh.
He smartly finished from close range in the 41st minute, with his goal enough to seal the three points and move Al-Nassr up to third in the table.
Al-Nassr's threat grew as the first half went on, with Milan Borjan making a fine double stop to deny Ronaldo and Talisca once again before Mohamed Simakan struck the post on the rebound.
Mane would eventually break the deadlock in the 41st minute though, darting in front of his marker to meet Abdulrahman Ghareeb's low cross and rifle it into the roof of the net.
The Senegalese striker arguably should have doubled his tally before the break, but was denied by Borjan's stretching save when one-on-one with the Canadian.
Talisca should have wrapped up the points in the final three minutes, but he blazed over an empty net from close range, before having a late goal disallowed for offside.
Data Debrief: Derby delight for Al-Nassr
After drawing their last two matches, this win was a welcome result for Al-Nassr as they racked up their sixth victory of the season to close the gap at the top of the table to six points.
It is just the second time Al-Nassr have avoided defeat in their first 10 matches of a Pro League campaign, last doing so in 2013-14, when they won the league title.
They are now unbeaten in their last seven Pro League derbies (W4 D3), their longest such streak since a run of nine between 2018 and 2020.
This is the first time in eight such games that they have kept a clean sheet though, and limited their opponents to just five shots throughout.
Al-Hilal 3-1 Al-Ettifaq: Champions return to the summit with dominant win
Al-Hilal surged back to the Saudi Pro League summit with a convincing 3-1 triumph over 10-man Al-Ettifaq on Friday.
The defending champions are now one point clear of Al-Ittihad in the standings, with their latest victory piling more misery on Al-Ettifaq boss, Steven Gerrard.
Al-Hilal struggled in the early exchanges at the Kingdom Arena, registering their first effort on Marek Rodak's goal in the 38th minute courtesy of Marcos Leonardo.
But the hosts would take the lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, with Mitrovic on hand to steer Renan Lodi's delivery into the net from close range.
Al-Hilal then doubled their advantage nine minutes from time when Malcolm collected the ball from Abdullah Al Hamddan, before rounding Rodak and finishing into an empty net.
However, hopes of a comeback from the visitors were revived in second-half stoppage time when Joao Cancelo gave away a penalty after a handball inside the box.
Vitinho stepped up and fired home the spot-kick, but Al-Hilal confirmed the win two minutes later through Mohammed Al Qahtani, with visiting forward Abdullah Radif shown a late red card for violent conduct.
Data Debrief: Happy Friday!
Al-Hilal continued their quest for a 20th Saudi Pro League crown with a dominant display against Al-Ettifaq, extending their unbeaten run against their opponents in the process.
They have now not lost their last 13 league encounters against Al-Ettifaq (W12 D1), surpassing their longest unbeaten streak against them in the competition (12 matches between 2008 and 2013 - W8 D4).
Al-Hilal have now lost only three matches when hosting teams on a Friday in the Pro League out of 55 matches (W46 D6 L3).
Lodi also took his goal contribution tally to eight this season in all competitions (three goals, five assists). During his European career with three different clubs, he only notched more goal involvements (nine) in the 2021-22 campaign with Atletico Madrid.
'Natural leader' Lukaku recalled to Belgium's Nations League squad
Romelu Lukaku has been recalled to Belgium's 23-man squad for their upcoming Nations League fixtures against Italy and Israel.
Lukaku, who is the Red Devils' all-time top scorer with 85 goals in 119 appearances, was left out of Belgium's opening four matches in the competition.
But since a 3-1 win over Israel in their opening game of Group A2, Domenico Tedesco's side are without a victory in three games and sit third in the standings.
Belgium know two triumphs are a must if they are to reach the quarter-finals of the Nations League, and see Napoli's Lukaku as the answer.
“He had no hesitation to return. He is one of the best strikers in world football. He doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody any more," Tedesco said.
"His qualities are key for us, and he’s also important off the pitch. He’s a natural leader and is very good at helping the young players.”
Lukaku has been in fine form for Serie A leaders Napoli, contributing eight goal involvements (four goals, four assists) in nine league appearances this term.
Youri Tielemans, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Koni De Winter have all missed out on the squad through injuries.
Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne is also an absentee after he had previously requested to be left out of the squad.
There are, however, returns for Ameen Al-Dakhil and Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia, while Club Brugge's 19-year-old left-back Joaquin Seys has earned a first senior call-up.
Belgium squad in full:
Koen Casteels (Al Qadsiah), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig); Ameen Al-Dakhil (VfB Stuttgart), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting Lisbon), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Matte Smets (Racing Genk), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt); Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Arne Engels (Celtic), Romeo Lavia (Chelsea), Orel Mangala (Everton), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa); Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Olympique Lyonnais), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).
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