Claudio Ranieri reflects on Cagliari’s 1-1 draw with Bari and looks ahead to crucial must-win match

Claudio Ranieri inevitably has a bitter taste for tonight’s 1-1 draw, which will force Cagliari to win on Sunday at the San Nicola to return to Serie A.

However, the rossoblù coach is sporty in judging the ninety minutes and long recovery of the Domus: “If we have to be honest, Bari deserved the draw,” he says then making self-criticism. «We made some technical mistakes in the passages, I tried to make substitutions but we couldn’t understand prepared plays. There is regret, but also the awareness that Bari deserved the same. In the second half we made some mistakes that we usually don’t make, I can’t understand: sometimes we stopped before going in search of an offside that was not there. Too many things didn’t go well, but we’re still in the running.”

Once again it’s a naive penalty that creates difficulties, almost in a photocopy with Bari-Cagliari in the championship (Makoumbou was there) and other times in the season: «Why does it happen so many times? I do not know. Lack of coldness, experience. It’s difficult to explain, even in Parma they gave us a penalty at the VAR for touching her with the arm».

Another 90′. Ranieri looks to Sunday’s match with confidence: «We don’t raise the white flag. We knew we had to win one, we didn’t give up and went to Bari aware that it would be a very difficult match. We want to go the way Bari wants, I also told the president this. In any case, I have confidence, we have to make Cagliari». On the injured: «Let me see how Nández and Mancosu are doing tomorrow morning, then we’ll see».

From the disk. Ranieri doesn’t want to argue about refereeing: «The penalties were both for me. The trend changes knowing that there is only one game and we have to win. There was a touch and I think the referee saw it. Maybe the referee said there was no intervention and the VAR told him there was. However, if he had seen that he had touched him but it wasn’t an inconsiderate tackle from a penalty kick, it was right to go on. The VAR is appropriate, everything is casuistry ».

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