Ranieri happy with draw: “We stood up to Atalanta”

Sampdoria have not been on a three-match run without defeat since December 2018, what feels like a lifetime ago. This most recent result was the fruit of a battling performance against Atalanta on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking after the match, Claudio Ranieri expressed contentment with the 0-0 draw: “When you start to build a house, you start with the walls. Then you move onto the furniture, pictures and flowers – those things are goals. However results like this give the players confidence and spirit.

“I was forced into two changes – we were really scraping the barrel. We really tried to push them but perhaps lacked a cutting edge. Playing Atalanta and standing up to them wasn’t easy, however it was nice to see how the team holds up against a good side like them.

“We did it against Roma, who at the time were the team to shoot most on goal in the league. We gave them very little and managed the same today.”

Commenting on Alex Ferrari avoiding a red card for his second-half challenge on Musa Barrow, the coach said: “I don’t understand the issue. The rule is clear – it happened to us in Ferrara. If the attacker is on the wing, it’s a yellow, otherwise it’s a red.”