Ranieri: “That was the real Samp”

This time you could see the joy on Claudio Ranieri’s face. After two below-par performances, Sampdoria gave the best of themselves against Fiorentina – bossing the encounter more than the 2-1 scoreline suggests.

“The lads were excellent today,” the coach smiled. “That was the team of last season after the lockdown – a team in which everyone helps each other, battles resolutely and even if they do make a mistake they try to make up for it. We really needed the three points to lift us off the bottom of the table.”

Ranieri was quizzed about the inclusion of Gaston Ramirez, who has been linked with a move away from the club.

“I have an excellent relationship with him. I asked him if he felt up to playing and he said he did. He showed what a great player he is. But regardless of that, it’s absurd that we have to play matches with the transfer window still open. Coaches should be able to get on with the job in peace.”

In the meantime, transfer talks continue unabated and the boss was asked to comment on possible arrivals.

“Adrien Silva is a quality player capable of putting in the dirty work too. I wanted him at Leicester and they signed him the year after I left.

“On paper we have a better squad now. If we play with the determination we showed today, we can achieve great things.

“Verre has both grit and quality. His goal was a real masterpiece. If Gaston were to leave, he’d probably get more playing time.”

The boss also admitted that he wasn’t entirely convinced by the refereeing: “It’s a shame [Fabio] Quagliarella’s first goal was disallowed. I really don’t understand why. The keeper even tried to save it. The ref could have been helped by the VAR.

“What did please me was our own performance today. That’s the way I like to see us: hard-working and compact. After two poor displays, we were really good tonight.”