Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi hailed three players after their Champions League victory over AC Milan.

Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan struck for the 2-0 semifinal first-leg win.

Inzaghi said, "(Stefan) De Vrij comes to mind, a player who never misses the match, enters arm in arm: in Rome and tonight he was very important. We have to go on like this, it's a positive evening that satisfies us, we know there's still a piece missing to crown a dream we've believed in since August.

"Dzeko and Mkhitaryan? They played a great game, I spoke about the substitutes because, having played football, I know it's more difficult to be substitute than to start the match.

"Dzeko and Mkhitaryan were as splendid as the other 13-14s, I had five or six on the bench who wanted to come on. A coach has to make a lot of decisions every day, someone expected to play and probably wasn't happy, but they had a great spirit and a great desire. The last step is still missing, but it's a mature team, who know it, who know on Tuesday that we'll find a team that wants to go to Istanbul."