Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi hailed his players' efforts after they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in Saturday's Champions League final in Istanbul.
After frustrating City for long periods, the Italian giants were powerless to stop Rodri from opening the scoring with just over 20 minutes of normal time left on the clock. The Spaniard stroked the ball home from just inside the penalty area after Bernardo Silva's cutback found its way to him.
Inter refused to let their heads drop, first hitting the woodwork through Federico Dimarco before Romelu Lukaku, who had earlier stepped off the bench, was somehow denied by Ederson. The Italian outfit also went close again in the dying seconds, only for Ederson to keep them out once more.
Though they failed to find a way past the City shot-stopper, it was not for the want of trying. And for Inzaghi, who was never expected to lead Inter to the final this season, it was a performance that he could only be proud of.
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"On a night like this, I can't single players out who played below par," Inzaghi told Sky Sports Italia. "I said yesterday I would not change my players for anyone else, and tonight the world saw why.
"They showed the whole world how well they stood up to Manchester City, a side that everyone knows has so much quality.
"I hugged my players one by one as they were extraordinary, just as our fans were and deserved a different result, but I hope they were happy seeing the way the team played tonight."
The defeat to City marked Inter's first appearance in the Champions League final since winning the competition back in 2010. Inzaghi will now be hoping that his side won't have to wait as long for their next appearance in the final of Europe's premier club competition.
He added: "Both I and my players were attacked and admittedly we lost some games that we shouldn't have lost, but I think we learned valuable lessons from those defeats. With this spirit, organisation and determination, I think we will be back here again in future."
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