Svilar and Mancini’s thoughts after Cagliari triumph

Here’s what the two players had to say.

Svilar

Was this the best way to bounce back after Bilbao?

“For sure. Losing was tough. We didn’t expect it, but we reacted in the right way. Taking all three points at home is important for our target.”

Does Gianluca Mancini cover you well?

“Yes, very well.”

Is the Champions League a realistic target?

“There are still nine finals to play. If we perform like this, anything is possible.”

Mancini

It was a real captain’s gesture towards Artem Dovbyk after his goal.

“That’s how it should be. It’s part of the game. The fans sometimes feel frustrated and that’s understandable because they experience everything with so much passion. On the pitch, we have to stay as balanced as possible. Artem missed a chance, but then he scored straight after, which was crucial. Artem is our striker, just like Eldor [Shomurodov], and I wanted to get the crowd behind him, to encourage him to score and it worked.”

What does this win mean after what happened in Bilbao?

“Bilbao is a wound that will stay with us. There’s that feeling that we didn’t get to compete on equal terms, but in football, you have to move forward. It was crucial to win today against a tough side. Mile [Svilar] made some great saves, it was a real battle, a difficult game and now we have nine more finals ahead of us.”

Fourth place is now within reach. Is Champions League qualification a realistic target?

“We mustn’t take notice of other teams. We need to concentrate on our own path, take it one game at a time and recognise that every match is difficult. We have to focus on ourselves and give everything in these nine finals.”