Coach Raffaele Palladino and players Rolando Mandragora and Luca Ranieri were interviewed after their side recorded a 2-1 away win at Celje in the Conference League. Here’s some of what they had to say:

Mandragora:

“We showed a lot of maturity. We took the lead during what was probably our worst spell in the game. That’s what being a team is about – suffering together. It’s never easy to win in Europe. We’ll think about our next game [in Serie April and then turn our focus to the home leg because we want to make it to the semis.”

“It’s a huge honour [to break the club’s European appearance record]. I’m over the moon about this.”

“I was injured at the start of the season and waiting for the coach to give me a chance. We’re all really competitive and work enthusiastically. All of the lads here are fantastic.”

“I don’t like to talk about my own performances too much. I’m willing and able to help my team-mates. They know that I’ve got their back in tough times, and vice-versa.”

Palladino:

“We put in a fantastic performance against a top team. Winning in their stadium wasn’t easy. They hadn’t lost at home in Europe for nine games, so that shows how impressive the result we got is. Everyone put in a good performance. It’s a shame to have conceded a goal because when you’re 2-0 up you’ve got to read the game and not overcomplicate things. We’ve got little time to prepare for the Parma game, which is really important for us.”

Ranieri:

“We played really well this evening and no other team has beaten them at home in Europe this season. It’s a shame we conceded but we’re on the right track. We’re a close-knit squad.”
 “We’re at a point of the season where we know when we should be attacking and when we should be defending. We’re winning games and we’ve got to keep this up.”

“I’m happy to have scored after having a goal ruled out against Milan. It’s always lovely to score as a defender, even more so when it contributes to a win.”

“We’ve now got to put tonight’s game behind us and turn our focus to Parma.”