Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini sorry to eliminate Qarabag FK

Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini has expressed his sympathy for Qarabag FK after his side knocked them out of the Europa League by holding them to a goalless draw.

The Azerbaijan outfit had a late goal controversially ruled out during the match, missing out on second place in Group F to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

"It was a good performance from us and both teams fought hard," Mancini told Mediaset. "We played well even with three or four youngsters on the field.

"We were only missing a goal from our showing, but it was tough as they wanted victory at all costs. I above all liked our character. Qarabag are a good team and I'm sorry that, despite this, they were unable to qualify for the round of 32.

"Qarabag had other chances as well as the late ruled out 'goal' and, if they had scored those, the game would've gone differently. In any case, I must compliment them on their performance."

Inter reached the last 32 of the competition as group winners, while Ukrainian side Dnipro stole second place with a 1-0 win over St Etienne.