Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi was surprised by the referee's decision to decline their first-half penalty shout for a Sadio Mane handball in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League loss to Bayern Munich.

The Nerazzurri were denied a penalty in the 10th minute despite referee Ivan Kruzliak consulting VAR when Mane appeared to raise his arms to block Nicolo Barella's goal-bound shot.

Despite Inter's early pressure, Bayern took the lead from Benjamin Pavard's 32nd-minute header, before Eric Maxim Choupo-Mating settled the points with a long-range 72nd-minute strike.

The match had no consequence on placings in Group C, with both sides already locked in for the last-16, but Inzaghi was still surprised by the referee's call on the Mane handball.

"The penalty? It had never happened to me that a referee recalled by the VAR turned it down," Inzaghi said.

Despite that, Inzaghi was delighted with his side for progressing in a group featuring Spanish giants Barcelona, who finished third.

"We've progressed from a difficult group, achieving something that makes us really happy," he said.

"This evening, we played well against a really strong side. We had a few chances to take the lead, and there was also the penalty that wasn't given.

"We were then punished for our first lapse in concentration. However, the team did well. We were able to rotate the squad, which is something we got out of it."

Inzaghi said the Nerazzurri would quickly turn their focus back to Serie A, with three games prior to the World Cup break, starting with a tough trip to Juventus on Sunday.

The 2021 Italian champions are currently sixth in Serie A, eight points behind leaders Napoli, but in the midst of a four-game winning streak.

"We fought hard for this qualification and will see what happens in February to enjoy the tournament, but for now we need to focus on Serie A," Inzaghi said.

"We are coming off four consecutive victories, but we dropped a lot of points early, we know that the fixture list is not simple for us until the break, but we must try to do the maximum."