Moratti stands by Ranieri

Moratti has declined to blame the 60-year-old coach and believes bad luck was the factor for Inter defeat over two-legs by Marseille.

The Nerazzurri were denied the chance to reach the quarter-finals as Tuesday's 2-1 victory at San Siro knocked them out of the competition on the away goals rule after a 1-0 defeat at the Velodrome in the first leg of their last 16 tie.

Ranieri has been on thin ice following the club's recent poor form, with Italian sources suggesting a number of coaches to replace him for the rest of the season.

However, Moratti has dismissed the suggestion of sacking Ranieri, saying that Inter were simply unlucky against Marseille.

"On an evening like this I do not feel like taking any action," Moratti is quoted by ANSA as saying. "I do not see how Ranieri is to blame.

"It has more to do with the luck his French counterpart [Didier] Deschamps had.

"If we had lost 4-0, I might have seen things differently, but after conceding two goals in stoppage time [over two legs] I do not feel I can give a negative assessment.

"Ranieri does not deserve it."