Roma rallies to beat Bayern Munich

Published Nov. 23, 2010 10:01 p.m. ET

foxsports

AS Roma rallied from two goals down to beat last season's runner-up Bayern Munich 3-2 Tuesday and take a big step toward advancing from its Champions League group.

Bayern, which had already advanced and has now won the group, got two goals in the first half from Mario Gomez before Roma responded with goals from Marco Borriello, Daniele De Rossi and Francesco Totti in the second half.

Totti, who came on in the 75th, sealed the victory with a penalty kick in the 84th minute at the Stadio Olimpico.

"We didn't start the way we wanted to and falling behind by two goals wasn't easy against such a great team, but with the determination and desire of a great club we got the result," Totti said.

"It's been a while since I scored a decisive goal and I'm going to remember this one," added the 34-year-old Totti, who has scored only three goals in all competitions this season.

Four-time champion Bayern leads Group E with 12 points, Roma is next with nine, FC Basel has six and CFR Cluj three.

Roma visits Cluj in its final group match Dec. 8, while Bayern hosts Basel.

The match mirrored Roma's season. The Giallorossi started the campaign by failing to win any of their first four games in Serie A, but are now unbeaten in their last seven matches in the Italian league.

The victory also marked Roma's first win over Bayern in three tries. The German power beat Roma 2-0 in September and won twice in the 1985 Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinals.

"This night will go down as one of the greatest pages in Roma's history," said Roma president Rosella Sensi. "It will be an evening that all of us fans will remember."

Roma's comeback began in the 49th when Borriello scored with an acrobatic effort following a cross from Jeremy Menez.

De Rossi then finished off a perfect counterattack in the 81st following accurate passes from Mirko Vucinic and John Arne Riise.

In the 83rd, Totti set up Borriello inside the area and Borriello was tripped by goalkeeper Thomas Kraft, leading to the Roma captain's penalty.

Gomez beat Roma defender Marco Cassetti with a shot from the center of the area that went in off the left post in the 33rd minute, then put a shot in off the other post from the edge of the box six minutes later, raising his scoring total to six goals in five Champions League matches this season, to go with his eight goals in 12 Bundesliga games.

Three German fans were injured in clashes before the match, the ANSA news agency reported, and one female Roma fan was stopped trying to enter the stadium with more than 40 firecrackers in her bag.