MILAN - "The result I liked, only the result. I always tell the truth. Against AC
Milan we played a very good game, but today we weren't in it." These were
the words from Claudio Ranieri at the end of the match.
"We won't go far like that. We weren't a team. I knew it would be a tough match, but we didn't play. However, I'll take the result. Seeing how we played, I don't think we could get much worse. The lads showed great character and I'll stop here, apart from the nice shots from the players who scored. We weren't fluid and we were even timid. I won't hang onto anything except the result and the desire. It seemed that we were lacking reference points. We were stretched and out of position. Lazio, however, played well. Am I speaking this way to keep the tension high? I'm not happy and I'm saying so. Then tomorrow perhaps I'll look at the standings and say 'Who cares, it's okay...' [smiling]. But I hope that wasn't the real Inter tonight. However, it was important to overtake Lazio. Now we have to attack the 3 teams ahead of us. They're doing very well and it won't be easy. We're Inter, and although we started late and had problems, we won't be happy at the end of the season if we haven't qualified for the Champions League."
He then spoke of Sneijder and Alvarez: "Wes is recovering and he's making
great strides. It was right to play him in spurts because he's still not at
100%, but I gave a boost to the team with him. Alvarez? Fortunately, he made
the play for Milito's goal. I would have liked to see him more a part of the
team and in the match."
Ranieri was then asked to comment on the penalty kick that Lazio claimed: "If the referee doesn't see the push from Klose then it's a penalty, but the ref was watching everything." Then the discussion turned to the build up to Pazzini's goal: "Pazzini's heel was in an offside position... but for referees these situations are difficult to assess. For referees these aren't mistakes... But we didn't say anything on Sunday about Thiago Motta's disallowed goal in the derby and therefore I'm not going to add anything else."
And regarding Motta, the coach was asked about his possible sale: "I really hope that Thiago Motta does not leave. He's a player with unique characteristics in our squad. When I lose him, like tonight, I lose clarity in our manoeuvring and security for the defence in the team's counters. They are assessments that we made with the club, but obviously there's a need to make more of them, not just technical and tactical ones. So we'll see. My hope is that Motta can stay with us. It needs to go both ways. We want him and we hope that he also wants us. Motta is a reference point for us. Without him some lack of balance is to be expected. I have to move Zanetti inside and it affects the manoeuvring. As much as I look around, I don't see a player like him. What more can I possibly say about it? 'We have the Duomo here in Milan, so forget about the Eiffel Tower'...," he said smiling.
