MILAN - "To concede a goal in stoppage time at their place... then again today, when they only had three shots on goal over the 180 minutes. I think Julio Cesar made one save over the two games. I don't think Marseille deserved it more than us but you win the game if you score the goals." Those were Claudio Ranieri's first comments after the match.
He went on: "We were punished for two damned goals in the dying minutes. I don't feel I can reproach the team for anything; they gave everything they had. The fans were marvellous: they accepted our invitation and they gave us a hand but this evening was the picture of our season. Now we must hang in there, show some self-respect and finish as high up the table as possible. I want to thank the fans because they were magnificent."
On Marseille's goal, Ranieri said: "Samuel should have jumped for it not Lucio, but Lucio thought he could win it and he was unlucky, or maybe there was a push. In any case it's all so typical of our season, like Mandanda's saves in the first half. We won't give up though and we mustn't give up. You have positive years when everyone goes well for you, and negative years when nothing does. You have to know how to deal with those years."
"We should have been a bit more compact in the first half; we managed that in the first 20 minutes but not afterwards. In the second period I asked Sneijder to drop back into midfield more to serve the forwards but then he got injured. It's a shame because the team gave so much - they gave it everything. Now they must keep giving everything and we'll see what we can do in the league," the Nerazzurri coach explained.
Ranieri continued with his analysis of the game: "We knew they would attack down the left and our defence controlled them well but then we weren't able to get forward ourselves. Why didn't Cambiasso start? Poli offers me more drive at the moment."
The coach continued: "The team couldn't have done anything more - apart from maybe have a bit more luck. The coach is always to blame of course, but we're also paid to take the blame. We were punished and I think unfairly so. Over the 180 minutes we created more chances but that's football for you - the good and the bad of football. It's not a positive year. Will Inter be overhauled now? No, the team doesn't need to be overhauled, just restructured, and the club is already aware of that. We'll keep battling but the wind will have to change - this team can't give any more than what they are already giving."
Ranieri was also quizzed about his own future: "Obviously I would stick with myself: I get on well with the president, the dressing room is compact, we agree on future plans, but it's their choice to make; I can't decide that. If the president did decide to change things, I'd still thank him for the chance he gave me. But I look to the future. You don't just rebuild completely after a match; you work with carefully laid plans. Whether they want to do that with me or without me is not for me to decide."
