Ranieri: “Character key to comeback”

Claudio Ranieri talked up his team’s character and determination after they blew Verona away with a swashbuckling second-half display.

The boss played his cards right at half-time and a totally different team emerged from the interval as goals by Jakub Jankto, Manolo Gabbiadini and Morten Thorsby turned around the 1-0 deficit.

“I really wanted to win today,” Ranieri explained. “We conceded from a free kick and we needed to make sure we didn’t give them any other chances. We played into their hands a bit in the first half.

“It’s not that we were playing badly but we needed to match Verona’s determination. We came out after the break with the bit between our teeth after the break and then our quality shone through.

“That’s the character I want to see from them: we must never give up. We have our target, and I keep drumming it in, which is to get another 26 points in the second half of the campaign.

“We have a tough week ahead: we’ll set off for Crotone on Tuesday and get back at 4 am on Thursday, then we play Sassuolo on Saturday – that’s why I made a few changes for this one. But I’m always happy to see substitutes coming on and give their all for the team.

“I saw the president after the final whistle and we were both smiling because we won.”