AC Milan boss Sergio Conceicao was impressed by his side's fight and defensive grit in their 1-1 draw with Inter.

The first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final between the two great rivals finished all square on Wednesday.

Tammy Abraham put Milan ahead with a clinical finish early in the second half, but Inter hit back through Hakan Calhanoglu.

Following a 1-1 draw in the last league meeting between these two teams, Milan and Inter have now drawn two games in a row for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

Milan have dipped in form after a strong start under Conceicao, but he feels his team are steadily improving, and that showed at San Siro.

"When I arrived, we had two games against Juventus and Inter for the Supercoppa, then we started a series of matches playing every three days," he told Sport Mediaset, as reported by Football Italia.

"Over the last two weeks, I've had more time to work with the squad in training on situations that are fundamental to bring more balance and reassurance.

"I know that might seem like an excuse, but it's the truth to me, because you get intensity and aggression in training too. Now we are working on the pitch and not just in video lectures, which makes a difference.

"In the second half against Napoli and again [on Wednesday], I saw a more solid team, the kind that I like to see.

"I think the result was fair, now we wait for the second leg and have this chance to go to the final in Rome, which we all really want."

The second leg takes place in late April.