http://www.chelseafc.com/article.asp?id=186409
Ranieri regrets wasted opportunity
Sunday, Feb 15, 2004
Talking after the game, Claudio Ranieri was clearly as frustrated
and puzzled by his team’s second-half lack of resistance at Highbury
as he had been pleased by the first-half display.
He agreed that not capitalising on the strong half-time position
was a wasted opportunity to get one over on our biggest London rivals
in terms of recent achievement and added: “The first-half we had a
good, good tempo. I said to my players at half-time be careful the
first 15 minutes of the second-half because Arsenal will try to come
back.
“I said it is very important to be compact like the first-half
and also to try to go and score the second goal.
“But Arsenal put us under pressure. It was a fantastic goal by
Reyes but we made a mistake because we must close the ball quickly and
not give him the time to look and come with the ball and shoot at goal.
“He can do this, he is great player with great skill. The second-half
wasn’t good for us.”
Asked if he had expected his players to show more fight he replied
in the affirmative.
“The second-half yes, but maybe we lost the plot. The way we started
the game was fantastic and I am very curious to speak with my players
over what happened. There is not only one, it was all the squad.
“I will speak to them when they come back from internationals. If I
speak now, when they come back they forget everything.”
While the Chelsea head coach may have been surprised by the way his
team went about their job after the break, his opposite number had the
opposite emotion. Arsenal’s second 45 minutes had panned out much in
the way Arsene Wenger had anticipated.
“Our passing was good and we were mentally strong. The players really
wanted to win the game and even at one down you could see that we would
come out and give everything in the second-half,” he insisted.
“With Chelsea’s long balls, they gave us problems in the first half.
I felt that we dropped a little too deep and were second on the ball.
Especially Mutu gave us problems in the first-half. Also their defence
played very high and we didn’t go enough in behind them.
“In the second-half we pushed high up and were more compact and won
more of the battles. Then we got that superb goal from Reyes and from
then on I felt psychologically we could win it.
Talk then moved on to Chelsea’s overall standing compared with
Arsenal. It is painful reading but today’s defeat was the fourth in a
row by the Gunners in the FA Cup. It also makes it 15 games in all
competition since the last Chelsea win.
Wenger refused to be drawn into stating too strongly that this
weekend’s game proved superiority.
“It’s just one game,” he said. “Chelsea are a very good side and
we are a very good side. The teams are close. Ever since I’ve been here
Chelsea have always been close.
“It was a great football game today.”
Claudio Ranieri meanwhile refused to accept there is a psychological
block when it comes to playing Arsenal or that fitness was a concern.
“If there was a mental problem, it would be from the beginning of
the game,” he explained. “Every time in the beginning we play very
well. It was the second-half that was wrong. A lot of times we have
scored first here and then conceded a draw and then a second.
“Our condition is very, very good and I said to the players at
half-time, now we can improve the tempo but it is one thing to think
and another thing to do.
“I am not angry with my players because they wanted to do the best.
But we must talk about the second-half,” he re-emphasised before being
asked what the secret to beating Arsenal is.
“I don’t know. If I knew it would be okay,” was the obvious
answer to a rather daft question. “But we try. Now there is another
match on Saturday.”
A thankfully early chance to redress the balance and ease the pain
most Chelsea followers must currently be thinking.
Paul Mason
--
╔═══╗ ╔╗ ╔╗ ╔═══╗ ╔╗ ╔═══╗ ╔═══╗ ╔═══╗
║╔═╗║ ║║ ║║ ║╔══╝ ║║ ║╔══╝ ║╔══╝ ║╔═╗║
║║ ╚╝ ║╚═╝║ ║╚══╗ ║║ ║╚══╗ ║╚══╗ ║╚═╝║
║║ ╔╗ ║╔═╗║ ║╔══╝ ║║ ╚══╗║ ║╔══╝ ║╔═╗║
║╚═╝║ ║║ ║║ ║╚══╗ ║╚══╗ ╔══╝║ ║╚══╗ ║║ ║║
╚═══╝ ╚╝ ╚╝ ╚═══╝ ╚═══╝ ╚═══╝ ╚═══╝ ╚╝ ╚╝
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 210.68.50.207