Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini hailed Brazilian star Adriano’s return to form during his side’s 1-0 victory over Sampdoria in the Italian league round-29 match that took place on Saturday.

“It went very well and, apart from the goal, Adriano also showed he could step up a gear and change pace like the old days,” Mancini told the official Inter website on Saturday.

Adriano faced a two-game suspension, after a rough tackle during his side’s match against Livorno, before returning to the field and scoring Inter’s winning goal in their match against Sampdoria.

“In these two weeks that he has spent out with that ban, he has trained regularly and you can see the difference it has made. Also, perhaps the lack of pressure that comes on match day did him good on a psychological level,” Mancini said.

Asked about Sampadoria and their own performance in the match, Mancini said:”We needed a great performance to beat them, as they are a solid side who always attack. We had a few problems in the opening 15 minutes, because Veron was making his comeback after several weeks out of action, but once he settled into the rhythm of the game it all fell into place,” he added.

On the other hand, the Inter head coach insisted that they will have to start preparing well for their coming tie against Dutch club Ajax in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, and said that he expected it to be an equal-sided encounter.

Inter have hold high hopes on their UEFA Champions League campaign after losing hope to clinch the Serie A title this season.