Ranieri praises Roma belief

Roma boss Claudio Ranieri was overjoyed after watching his side come from two goals down to beat Bayern Munich 3-2 in the Champions League.

Things were looking dire for Roma after a Mario Gomez double had put Bayern 2-0 ahead at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday, but second half goals from Marco Borriello, Daniele de Rossi and Francesco Totti gave the Italians a famous victory.

Ranieri said it was pleasing to see his side play with such self belief as they continue to improve after a poor start to the season.

“I think the first one or two plays were really important because the team believed that they could do it and the public believed in the team and there was that marvellous union that allowed Roma to win,” Ranieri said.

“The players were magnificent in the second half; they fought hard and finally achieved a great result. It’s a huge satisfaction for them.”

“It’s difficult to play Bayern because they make you run a lot with how they keep possession.”

“During the first half they played with us like cats do with mice, but in the second we changed gear and finally managed to play our football at a high tempo.”

Roma are still not guaranteed qualification for the knockout stages and must get at least a point from their trip to Cluj in a fortnight, but Ranieri said they would take plenty of confidence from Tuesday’s win.

“Obviously it’s important, these are matches that stay in your heart and now it needs to be us who makes the most of it in a positive manner,” Ranieri said.

“However, we’re fully aware that nothing is decided yet. We have another hurdle to pass before celebrating qualification.”

Bayern coach Louis van Gaal lamented a lack of concentration which cost his side in the second half.

“I don’t believe lack of motivation was the problem, like we saw in the first half, probably it was a problem with lack of concentration at the beginning of the second half, we started to lose too many balls,” van Gaal said.

“It was us who allowed Roma to stay in the match.”

“In reality Roma only had three counter attacks but they managed to make the most of these three counter attacks by scoring three goals.”