Roma suffered yet another heavy defeat in the Champions League after losing 7-1 to Bayern Munich in front of their own supporters. This was a defeat that matched a similar loss to Manchester United in the previous time Roma were playing in this competition. They returned to the European elite after doing well under Rudi Garcia last season, but the former Lille manager seems some way away from getting his team back to the top of the European table. Garcia says that despite this heavy defeat, he is confident that Roma can reach the top of the group.
Roma, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich comprise a very difficult group. The Italians are paying the price for not being in the Champions League over the last few years. Their UEFA coefficient is very low and this has resulted in this tough draw. City are yet to take even from the opening three matches and, as a result of it, they are two points behind Roma. Even with this heavy defeat, Roma can still qualify for the knockout stages which will be a major achievement especially given that they have been without this top-level European football for a number of years before Garcia’s arrival.
The Italian league resumes this weekend with the second placed Roma taking on Sampdoria in an away match. “The truth always comes out on the pitch; on Tuesday it was shown that they were stronger, but the scoreline was excessive. The Champions League is tough and we knew that, but we’re still second in the group. Now let’s focus on the league. Sometimes slip-ups happen, but we have to continue guiding our ship. Great victories can also be built upon heavy defeats – I always think positively. There will be time to analyse the defeat against Bayern again when we go to Munich. The result is always the consequence of how we play,” said Garcia.