Ranieri: Derby pressure is on Milan

Inter coach Claudio Ranieri believes there is more pressure on AC Milan to win Sunday’s derby than on his own side.

Inter lock horns with their San Siro rivals hoping to close the gap on the top-placed sides as they sit fifth in the table, eight points off joint leaders Milan and Juventus.

And Ranieri believes Milan’s league-leader status means the onus is on them to take the three points on Sunday.

“I will not dodge responsibility, but in this round, they have more pressure than us,” Ranieri told Corriere della Sera.

“Up until recently, we were in the bottom places and it will not change anything if we do not win, because Milan are above.”

“What will count for us will be the second league derby against them, on May 6. At least I hope so, because it means we are still in the race for the title.”

“Our only worry must be to end the first round of matches well and start the second round better.”

Ranieri took over from Gian Piero Gasperini in September following Inter’s dismal start to the season, and the 60-year-old coach conceded it was not easy to oversee the team’s recovery in form.

“(I have managed to put the team back on track) with work and patience, putting together the youngsters and not-so-young players,” he said.

“When I arrived, the situation was complicated and it was the team’s veterans who helped me.”

“I saw in them the desire and the grit to turn the situation around. They never boiled over. I never got down, not even when things were not going our way because I saw in training how much commitment they were putting, every day.”

The Italian did admit he had been disappointed with the performances of Mauro Zarate, who joined the club on loan from Lazio in the off-season.

“He is a golden boy,” Ranieri saidd. “He also has everything needed to be a champion.”

“But he makes me despair. At times I realise that I need to play him, but he does not touch the ball, he does not chase opponents, he just watches the match.”

“Then, the day after, he is a phenomenon in training. And I ask him: ‘Why did not you do that yesterday?'”

“It saddens me, but I cannot make him play with an earpiece. Perhaps it is my fault, too, because I cannot find the key to his heart.”