Inter Milan's head coach Roberto Mancini was looking forward to Friday's quarter-final draw after his team's win over European champions Porto on Tuesday but admitted they did it the hard way.

Inter's Brazilian soccer star Adriano shakes hands with coach Roberto Mancini, left, after scoring the third goal of his hat trick during the Champions League first knockout, 2nd leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Porto at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, March 15, 2004. Inter won 3 -1. [AP]

"We did everything we could to make things difficult for ourselves. Having scored early we then pulled back and didn't create much during the first half except on the break."

"We were better after the interval, though we should have been more careful on that corner when Porto scored. When you concede a goal to go 2-1 up with 20 minutes left it's only natural that you feel a bit of fear."

Asked about recent reports linking Adriano to Real Madrid he said: 'When a player doesn't play it's normal that he's unhappy. Tonight, though, he was extraordinary. Let's hope the three goals he scored have got him properly back into his stride.'

Porto striker Benni McCarthy was left to rue his side's exit.

He told Sky Sports News: 'We were not as confident as we were supposed to be, we knew we had to start off great after drawing 1-1 at home and we gave away an early goal.

"We had to work twice as hard to get back and after that and it became a bit of a Mission Impossible, but we worked hard and all credit to the guys. But it can be very tough against Italian teams."

"They defend well and we weren't as good as we could have been tonight."

Editor: Donald