EMPOLI – Roberto Mancini admitted that Inter didn't deserve to beat Empoli after they were held to a goalless draw at the Stadio Castellani and instead analysed why his men came up short on the night, while reiterating his confidence about the overall progress the team is making.
The coach began: "We didn't create an awful lot of chances. We sat too deep and didn't do a great job of building play from the back. We struggled to move the ball around - that was our problem tonight. I think we need a bit of time to grow together. Winning or not winning a match doesn't settle anything one way or another. As I said, the main thing is that we move forward together and stay compact. We knew it was important to win today but we also knew it was going to be tough. And Empoli played well.
“I think we all need to give a bit more. Last Sunday the lads did superbly. We have to start building from the back and we also need to be brave enough to take risks because we are Inter and we can't not do that. I didn't think we're doing everything perfectly just because we won last Sunday. We're doing some things well and other things less well. I felt we could have done better today. We have to show the personality we had at home when we play away as well – like we did at Juventus."
The Stadio Castellani has always been a tough ground for the Nerazzurri to go to. "Yes, it has been hard for us at Empoli traditionally because they're a side with a lot of energy. I think that's where they're strong. They play good football and try to build moves.
"Are we lacking a bit of energy ourselves? Not all of our players are fully fit so yes that's something we need to work on."
Mancini then provided an update on Ranocchia's condition after the skipper was forced to withdraw at half time: "He took a knock to the knee, we'll have to see."
Among the positives to take, besides keeping a clean sheet, was extending the unbeaten streak to five games. "It's important to keep up this run of positive results. We're disappointed because we didn't do enough to win this game - the sort you want to win but don't deserve to so you settle for not losing. We're back on Wednesday and we have to get going again immediately."
The coach then commented on Shaqiri during his post-match press conference: "He hasn't trained much. I think it will take a couple of weeks before we see him at his best."
Versión Española 日本語版 Versi Bahasa Indonesia Versione Italiana
LE PAROLE DI MISTER MANCINI POST EMPOLI-INTER
