Roma This article is more than 9 years oldFrancesco Totti admits Manchester City’s tweet inspired him to score
This article is more than 9 years old Totti levelled Sergio Agüero’s opener to seal a 1-1 drawCity had tweeted that Totti had never scored in England
Match report: Manchester City 1-1 Roma
Pellegrini criticises Manchester City after Roma draw
The Roma captain, Francesco Totti, has thanked Manchester City for giving him extra motivation to score on Tuesday.
The 38-year-old striker was reminded through City’s official Twitter account hours before his team’s Champions League encounter at the Etihad Stadium that he had never scored in England.
So Totti put things right when he cancelled out Sergio Agüero’s opener to earn Roma a 1-1 draw.
“City’s tweet? It really brought me luck,” Totti told Gazzetta dello Sport. “It was a beautiful goal and a good performance.
“I really wanted to score as soon as possible as I had not found the back of the net this season.
“But above all, I am thrilled for my team because we have shown a lot of strength, which was not easy.”
The goal meant that the former Italy international overtook Ryan Giggs to become the oldest player to score in the Champions League.
“It really wasn’t something I was thinking of when I was on the pitch,” Totti said. “Records arrive thanks to the help of your team-mates and what really matters is the result of the team.
“My main focus is on the team and not on myself.”
We're looking forward to hosting you @OfficialASRoma, and a legendary player such as Totti. He's never scored in England, has he? #CityvRoma
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) September 30, 2014The outcome in England allowed Rudi García’s Roma to remain unbeaten and move to second in Group E after two games. Roma are two points adrift of the group leaders Bayern Munich and three points clear of City.
“After the group was drawn, few people gave us any hope of doing well,” Totti said. “But we have proved that we can play against any team. We have shown we are strong and competitive and we fear no one.
“Nothing has changed. Our aim is to progress to the next round and we know it’s not going to be easy because City and Bayern Munich are very strong.”
Roma could not resist responding in kind after Manchester City tweeted again to wish them well. The Italian club welcomed them to Rome, then reminded them that they have never won in Italy.
Thanks for the hospitality last night @mcfc. Looking forward to seeing you in Rome. You've never won a European game in Italy, have you?
— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) October 1, 2014ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaJ6fpMGjrculZmtoYWl8sK%2FTaGdqZ5anrq%2BvxKyaqGWkpMG1tYymmKebmJrAtbHRZpqirKliwbixxK1koqajpbazrdOipqdloqS6og%3D%3D