Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi feels last season's Champions League final defeat has helped his team grow.

Inter kickoff their new campaign at Real Sociedad.

Inzaghi said: "Certainly, what we did helped us.

"We have had two important years in the Champions League. What the Champions League left us last year is something special: I don't easily forget the embrace of the final with our fans, just like the evenings at San Siro, in the semi-final of the derby, against Porto, against Benfica.

"It was a wonderful ride, without forgetting that difficult group that we had to overcome. Now comes the difficult part, but the boys know that by all working together we can do excellent things."

He also stated: "Real Sociedad is a very organised team, with a coach who has been there for many years, with many players who have remained. It is an organised team, which we have seen in all these matches: last year they played with a different formation, with David Silva behind the two strikers. Now it has changed, we have a lot of respect: we have seen players of great quality, we know that we will have to play an important match, like a true Inter, because we are facing a very, very organised team."