Football
ESPN staff 9y

Roma boss Rudi Garcia takes blame for 'tactical collapse' vs. Bayern

Coach Rudi Garcia said his strategy was wrong and took the blame for Roma's "collapse" against Bayern Munich in a 7-1 defeat in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Bayern led 3-0 after 25 minutes and 5-0 by halftime, handing Roma their first loss at home in all competitions this season.

The Giallorossi could do little to stop the German champions, but Garcia said the failings originated from his tactics.

"It was a tactical collapse more than a psychological one. We weren't aggressive enough and allowed Bayern to play," Garcia told Sky Sport Italia.

"I am the first one who made the mistake, it is not the fault of the players. The first half approach was my fault entirely. It was the wrong strategy, we should've been more closed up and try to hit them on the counter-attack.

"Once we were a goal down after 10 minutes, we ran forward and that played into Bayern's hands. We were too eager to get it back on track and left spaces that Bayern took advantage of. We should've kept our heads and waited for the right chance."

Garcia said he was pleased with how Roma responded mentally in the second half, and said his side still have a good chance to advance from the group stage.

"Now we must lift our heads and the only good news is Manchester City's draw, which allows us to stay second in the group," Garcia said.

"Bayern were stronger than us tonight and we played much less well than usual. We were almost spectators in the first half and what I don't like is the lack of aggression and unity.

"We must accept this defeat, which proves we also need more steps to get closer to the best teams in the world. We are still second and can hope for qualification, but certainly not playing like this."

Meanwhile, director of sport Walter Sabatini said Roma will "re-evaluate our international level" before their next Champions League matchday.

"We will interrogate ourselves on what happened, as we really did not expect this," Sabatini said. "We expected to play a proud game, instead it all degenerated so quickly and the lads lost confidence. It is a lesson that we gladly would've avoided, but we will at least try to make the most of it for future use."

Miralem Pjanic said there was nothing Roma could do as Bayern did a good job keeping tight pressure throughout the match.

"Bayern pressed for 90 minutes and never allowed us space, as every time we had the ball in midfield there was someone on us," Pjanic said.

"We couldn't string three or four passes together or create our usual football. It's a great shame, we faced a very strong side, but we are still second and have to avoid anything like this happening again.

Daniele De Rossi said Roma would make up the heavy defeat to their supporters in the days to come.

"The result is shocking," the midfielder said. We must take the positives and learn the lesson from this night, perhaps helping us realise our real dimension.

"We and the city had been waiting for this match for a long time and it's a shame we got this result. Seeing the fans applaud us at the end of the game felt like a stab in the heart. The season is long and potentially rich in satisfactions, so we will pay them back for their support."

De Rossi was present seven years ago when Manchester United thumped Roma 7-1 in the Champions League, but he said this repeat simply represented one bad night.

"We already got a hammering like this a few years ago, but remember we had beaten Manchester United 2-1 the same year we lost 7-1. It's a bad night, but we can play the other games."

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