Ranieri upbeat: “I’ve seen positives, we’ll keep fighting”

It was a bittersweet afternoon for Claudio Ranieri, as Sampdoria left the Stadio Dall’Ara without any points to show from a game in which they could and certainly should have got more. “In the first half, we gave Bologna confidence by making mistakes with our passing and giving them space to break into,” stated the boss. “It’s a shame because we reacted well after they took the lead and showed some positive signs. We should’ve been fully focused for the corner which they restored their advantage from.”

There is no time to feel down, however. The players will be back out for training tomorrow morning to prepare for the home clash with Lecce on Wednesday evening. “We mustn’t think that everything is going wrong. Sampdoria are not a weak team,” concluded Ranieri. “In sport, you win and you lose. We’ll be back out on the pitch in three days and I expect an immediate reaction. Bologna took the three points because they strongly believed they could win and we will have to do the same against Lecce. We must continue to fight.”