Claudio Ranieri has a mixture of regret and satisfaction after Cagliari held Juventus to a 2-2 draw, but tries to ‘see the glass half-full’ and jokes about the free kick controversy.
The Sardinians leave the Unipol Domus this evening with regrets, as they had a 2-0 lead going into the break with penalties converted by Gianluca Gaetano and Yerry Mina.
They also had several other opportunities, testing Wojciech Szczesny, but the Juve pressure paid off with Dusan Vlahovic’s free kick and an Alberto Dossena own goal for the 2-2 final result that ultimately pleases nobody.
“Until the referee blows the final whistle, it’s never over with Juventus. It’s a pity, because the two goals they scored were entirely avoidable, but we honestly could not have done any more,” Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia.
Few expected Cagliari to get any points in the last three rounds, but they managed to beat Atalanta 2-1, then draw 2-2 with both leaders Inter and third-placed Juventus.
“If people had told us we’d get five points from this run of games, we would not have believed them. Now we have to keep fighting, because we’re not there yet and need to improve certain things.
“The own goal can happen, but the problem was losing the ball playing out from the back, that was avoidable. As for the free kick, I’d like to see it again, as Nandez insists he didn’t even touch him.”
Ranieri was shown the footage again of the sliding tackle on Federico Chiesa and it did appear to be a graze on the ankle at most.
“My player told me, he absolutely did not touch him, but then I learned only coaches are bigger liars than players, so I thought I’d wait and see the footage!”
The other error was on the free kick itself, as Antoine Makoumbou essentially ducked in the wall to get out of the way.
“I tell those in the wall not to turn, because otherwise the goalkeeper can do nothing if it comes through and he can’t see it. That’s a pity.”
There was some confusion over who was meant to take the spot-kick, as Gaetano stepped up the first time, then Mina took the second.
“I told Mina that he could take a penalty, then I saw Gaetano looking at me and I trusted them to sort it out themselves,” waved Ranieri.
Cagliari are currently on 32 after 33 matches, but were four points clear of the drop zone going into this weekend.
“We started the season with a handicap, recovered over the last month and a half, but we need to complete the job, because these fans deserve it.
“I see the glass half-full. I take away the pride, determination and quality shown by my team tonight, which is not easy against people who can make the ball sing. I am very satisfied with the performance, but have regrets as with another two points we’d have been closer to safety.
“I cannot say for certain, but I think safety can be secured at 36-37 points.”