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Roma’s coach, Claudio Ranieri, spoke at a press conference following the victory against Athletic Bilbao.

The expulsion in the final moments of Yeray Alvarez gave a big hand to Roma, who managed to bend Athletic Bilbao at the last breath of the first act thanks to a goal from Shomurodov: everything will be decided in the return leg.

Roma, Ranieri’s words

Claudio Ranieri spoke to Sky Sport in the post-match interview. Here are his words.

Match
“The idea is to have more options before starting the match. You prepare yourself for both the good and the bad to help the boys. We know the strength of an opponent like Athletic, it will be a very difficult match given their strength. But we are also here, we are tough to digest, we fight for every ball and this gives me hope: it’s like the first half is over, we have a 50-50 chance between us and them.”

Formation
“Seeing them in training gives me the confidence that keeping them out is regrettable because they are always ready. Baldanzi is in a golden moment, I had seen the game in September and he had put them in great difficulty: his position between midfield and attack created superiority for us.”

Celik
“I believe that giving confidence to players is the most important thing for a coach. We all make mistakes: from players to the coach. If someone starts stringing all the beads, the boys lose confidence in themselves. I try to make them improve where they can, but they must be free to play as they want. We study the opponents and ourselves: I have wonderful boys, I’m honest, they follow me in everything and these are really great satisfactions.”

What to improve?
“We need to try to play faster, today Athletic closed a lot on the flanks with the Williams brothers who have legs like motorcycles. They are good at sprinting, so we worked on sacrifice and coverage. We need to work on the little things: this would allow us to improve even more.”

Episodes
“My philosophy is: you can win, you can lose, you have to fight until the end. Then you accept the final result because maybe the others were better, luckier. If you don’t give up in difficulties, insist and the wheel turns and the team manages to do important things.”

Then in the press conference.

Formation
“Konè has been pushing since I arrived and he needs to catch his breath. I used Rensch to be able to attack and have a player with good feet and double up. They have the two Williams brothers who have very good feet. My players always managed to stay in the game, I have to congratulate them. All those flags today, thanks to the fans, a beautiful sight.”

Offside on the 2-1 goal?
“It wasn’t offside, we on the bench knew it.”

Change
“The players follow me. There is a feeling and trust. It’s a give and take with this team. I wasn’t a champion like them but I never gave up. That’s what I ask of them. The performance is what I ask for. Fight until the end. Be satisfied with the game.”

CLAUDIO RANIERI POINTS TO THE NUMBER TWO ( PHOTO BY SALVATORE FORNELLI )