Cagliari coach Claudio Ranieri feels that his team did well to get a result against an Inter Milan side who are “a machine.”
The Rossoblu coach reacted to yesterday’s 2-2 Serie A draw in a press conference after the match, as reported by FCInterNews.
It may have looked like Cagliari were in for a long evening after they conceded relatively early on at the San Siro yesterday evening.
Inter had won 26 of their previous 31 matches in the league. And they had lost on just one occasion.
However, the Rossoblu showed, as they have all season, that they have an outstanding knack for not crumbling in tough matches.
Ranieri’s team kept their shape, not allowing Inter too many more good chances.
And in attack, the Rossoblu maintained a threat for much of the match as well.
Ranieri emphasized the pace in his team to try and get in behind Inter’s defensive line.
And this worked as intended on a few occasions.
There were both of Cagliari’s goals. And there was also an excellent chance for midfielder Nicolas Viola to score a winner right near the end of the match.
Cagliari Coach Claudio Ranieri: Inter “A Machine”
The fact that even with Cagliari putting in such an impressive performance, they still had to share the spoils, was perhaps a testament to just how strong this Inter team are this season.
Atalanta, by contrast, had fallen to defeat in the Rossoblu’s previous match.
And that is more or less how the Sardinian team’s coach sees things.
Veteran coach Ranieri remarked that “Against a machine like Inter, I had to put out a team with pace, quality, and the desire to fight.”
“Mina wasn’t training fully, as he had a few physical problems. And then Dossena was one booking away from suspension.”
“I was afraid of losing both to suspension. So I left Dossena out” the Cagliari coach explained of his selection in defense.
“I played Jankto from the start,” he added. “But then I saw that he wasn’t protecting the defense from the flank.”
“Then I put on a midfielder, so I could divide up the pitch. Three instead of two.”
