Ranieri: “Inter made it hard for us”

Claudio Ranieri admitted it had been a tough day at the office after newly crowned champions Inter ran riot at the San Siro and he was quick to give credit where it was due in the wake of Saturday’s 5-1 defeat.

“We tried to play our game but found ourselves behind straight away,” the boss began. “Then 20 minutes later it was 2-0. It’s a shame because we pulled one back through [Keita] Balde.

“I’m sure we ran more but we ran badly, not through any fault of our own but because Inter were good at making us run around.”

Ranieri then offered a partial assessment of the season before explaining the guard of honour Sampdoria gave Inter before kick-off.

“We have three games left and I still have the 52-point target in mind so we must start winning again. We set out this year to suffer less than last season and we got ourselves in a decent position early on. Overall it’s been good and I think the fans, who have never stopped supporting us, are happy too.

“As for the guard of honour, it’s quite common in England. I put the idea to [Fabio] Quagliarella and the others and they were happy to go along with it. Gestures like that is what sport should be about.”