“I have to say that I am pleased because we played well, especially in the first half,” Cuper told www.uefa.com. “We didn’t score but we played well and that is also important.

“Things changed a bit in the second half and Milan played better but in the end I think the result was fair.

“I saw a well-organised Inter and I think that is a good thing. Both teams wanted to win and to have scored would obviously have been better but we are confident ahead of the second leg.”

Inter captain Javier Zanetti was also buoyed by the draw in his side’s ‘away’ leg.

He added: “Milan attacked more than us but I think that we were never in any real danger of conceding, while we had two clear chances.

“Now we are ready to play the second half of this match. I am satisfied with how we played and I am optimistic.”

However, AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf is convinced his side can reach the final where they would play either Real Madrid or Juventus.

“I think we played a good game. We controlled most of the play,” Seedorf said.

“They had a couple of good chances in the first half but we had the best chances to score.

“We weren’t able to get the goal but I believe we showed with our play that we are the better team and I’m convinced we can get through to the final.

“I’m not frustrated because it was important not to concede a goal and we have achieved that.

“If we score next week and it’s a draw then it counts as double so we’ll be happy with that.”

Seedorf also aimed a critical jibe at Inter’s defensive style of play.

He said: “Their style is to think destructively while we are thinking constructively and I think we showed a lot of good play, the way football should be played.”