Spalletti content but not complacent

AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti described his side's 2-1 comeback victory in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie against Real Madrid CF as a "beautiful game" and felt the Giallorossi were "rewarded for our excellent performance". Spalletti's Madrid counterpart Bernd Schuster was upbeat about his own team's display and believes they are still in an excellent position to progress, despite losing influential defender Sergio Ramos for the second leg due to suspension.

Luciano Spalletti, Roma coach
My team proved to be very mature and intelligent tonight because conceding an early goal to Madrid could have led to a very difficult night for us. However, we continued to play our own game and eventually we were rewarded for our excellent performance. It was a beautiful game with both teams playing very well but we deserved the victory. Madrid are very good at keeping possession and all of a sudden they can put you in trouble with some invention from their great players. We knew Madrid were a great side with players who are extremely good in one-on-one situations. I'm very satisfied with the way we played even if we probably could have done better with some counterattacks during the second half. I'm satisfied with the result even if we need another great performance in Madrid.

Bernd Schuster, Madrid coach
I'm not happy with the result because we played well for 90 minutes, but these things can happen in the Champions League. It is very important to have scored and we can qualify in front of our fans at a full stadium. Obviously we have to change something in away games because we have not earned good results recently. However, on other occasions Iker Casillas saved us, while today it was different because we did play well. Maybe we were not clinical in front of their goal while Roma needed only a couple of chances to get the victory.

Roma played as I expected – they have a different philosophy compared to us but we respect them. However, I'm not disappointed with our performance at all – I liked the way we played. Sergio Ramos will be suspended in the return leg and once again we will not be able to field our best defence. This season we have only done it once, against FC Barcelona, and we did not concede on that occasion. However, I'm sure that the player who replaces him at the Santiago Bernabéu will do well and I will be able to field a competitive lineup anyway.