PRESS ROOM| Pisacane after the match against Lecce

Cagliari coach Fabio Pisacane’s analysis after the home defeat against Lecce.

THE MATCH
“It’s a shame. We weren’t able to play as well as we wanted. Today was a good opportunity to pull away from a direct rival, but we didn’t manage it. Today, everyone’s to blame. That’s how it is when you lose. We need to stay united and work, because we weren’t great before and we’re not now. The absences aren’t an excuse; the defeat is the result of a hasty, imprecise approach, lacking in malice and cunning in certain situations. We faced a Lecce team that’s fighting and wants to stay up, just like us, and they prevailed today. Let’s start over and analyze things calmly, focusing on Lazio. Caprile? I didn’t speak to him today, but I don’t have to in any particular way: I’ll talk to the whole team. We need to analyze things clearly. We need to remain calm and clear-headed in our analysis, as always.”

TOO MANY ERRORS
“Of course, when you lose, there are many things that didn’t work. Today’s performance wasn’t up to par, which is disappointing because we could have increased our lead in the standings and we didn’t manage it. Today, it’s not one or two players’ fault, but everyone’s, me first and foremost. A lack of concentration after victories given the squad’s relatively young average age? It can happen, but that’s where I come in and I have to keep the tension high. During the week, I tried to send a clear message, because we’re not safe yet and we have to fight. Details and readings could have made the difference today, and in the end, we paid the price for two set-piece situations. Now we need to quickly understand why we used the wrong approach in certain situations, playing a bit on the strikers; a team like ours can’t afford that.”

NOT EVERYTHING IS TO BE THROWN AWAY
“I don’t think the team didn’t create anything, because Zappa shot twice, Pavoletti had one chance, and we were definitely not precise at various times. The team and the coach shouldn’t be blamed; we certainly could have done better, but we’ll review everything calmly and lucidly. Lack of hunger? I don’t think so, but if something didn’t work, we definitely need to work harder, and I also need to push them harder and better. Plan B for the play on Palestra? I think Palestra played like a fireball in the first half, but when you lose, you definitely didn’t do as well as the winner, otherwise the result would have been different. The winner is always right, and the loser needs to examine their conscience.”

FATAL SET PIECES
“We knew Lecce had the height and we knew the specific danger. We should have been more careful, and when you concede a goal like the first, there are multiple mistakes at once. It’s disappointing that we made mistakes in defense and in certain situations.”

MANY ABSENCES
I think Folorunsho can return to action against Lazio. He’ll be increasing his training load from tomorrow. Gaetano will be out for about three weeks. It’s disappointing because he was getting into his rhythm and confidence, but after missing the training camp and having physical problems at the start of the season, he played four games in a row, covering a lot of miles, and he ended up paying the price. In recent days, Kilicsoy had intestinal problems and wasn’t at his best. Mazzitelli was dealing with some aches and pains, but he didn’t sit out the starting lineup because of them. I don’t like to look for excuses, and this team has already shown they can bounce back in the toughest moments. Are we fighting to avoid relegation? After earning important points, we’re now losing ground, but we have our sights firmly set on the goal and we know we’ll have to struggle. We’ve never let it get to our heads. It doesn’t take much to get out of the game, and it’s enough to end up back in the fray. Let’s not get depressed and stay united.