FC Internazionale Milano coach Roberto Mancini has set his sights on first place in UEFA Champions League Group B after his side secured qualification for the last 16 thanks to Hernán Crespo's goal that secured victory against Sporting Clube de Portugal. Mancini's Sporting counterpart Paul Bento was gracious in defeat and has already turned his attentions to claiming a UEFA Cup berth on Matchday 6.

Roberto Mancini, Inter coach
We played well and made sure that Sporting were restricted to very few opportunities. It's always risky when you're only 1-0 up but we defended very well. My players have done a superb job in winning three matches on the spin. It wasn't easy to pick ourselves up after our poor results early on, but we did, and now we will go to Munich and try to win to finish top of the section. Considering the state of the other groups, it's difficult to say whether or not it is a big advantage to finish top but we always play to win. We'll also be keen to get revenge for our defeat at home to [FC] Bayern [München]. One negative was the injury to Olivier Dacourt. He's been an important player for us this season and I hope his thigh problem isn't serious. On the other hand it was great to see Esteban Cambiasso return to action.

Paulo Bento, Sporting coach
We struggled early on in the game, although Inter didn't create any serious chances to score. We only started to play better after they scored their goal. I felt it was a goal we should have avoided but our offside trap broke down. We played better in second half but lacked the quality needed to put Inter's defence in trouble. Inter are experts when it comes to defending a lead and I have to say they deserved the victory. We have failed in our main objective but we must stay focused and try to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Even though we lost I can only congratulate my players on the commitment they showed.