In an interview with Sky Sport, Inter captain and goalkeeper Samir Handanovic admitted he believes Inter deserved to qualify for the Champions League off the back of their 2-1 win over Empoli, which secured them their place in next season’s competition.

“The fans pushed us from the beginning and for this I thank them: without them we would never have made it,” the Slovenian told the Italian broadcaster.

“It was a difficult game and I congratulate Empoli for their performance but I am sorry for their relegation. In the week I was a bit worried. I know what San Siro is like and I knew that without scoring early, it would not be easy for us.

He concluded the interview: “There are days when you have to do something more and we deserved to get into the Champions League. It has been a season full of problems, there has been many of them so this qualification is a great success for me.”