Shift in tempo responsible for Roma recovery

Claudio Ranieri said his AS Roma team "changed gear" and played at a "high tempo" in the second half after watching the Giallorossi recover from 2-0 down at half-time to defeat FC Bayern München. The Group E result, which leaves the Italian club within a point of qualification, was a difficult one to explain for opposite number Louis van Gaal, who nonetheless thought "not everything in our performance was bad".

Claudio Ranieri, Roma coach
Everything became more difficult after the first half. However, 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 was great that [Francesco] Totti had the right approach when he came on. It's not easy to sit on the bench for a player like him but I wanted to give him some rest after playing two consecutive games in Serie A and he fully understood my idea.

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

Louis van Gaal, Bayern coach
If it were so easy to explain why things are going wrong for us, I would already have the answer for you. I first have to talk to my players, find out what they are thinking and feeling, and then I can get an idea of what has happened. Nevertheless, I do believe that not everything in our performance was bad. In the first half we were very dominant. We're still first in the group and through to the round of 16. Of course, right now we're all disappointed but we have lost an incredible game tonight having gone nine matches without defeat beforehand.