Spalletti applauds Totti for his brace against Torino

It's no secret that the relationship between Luciano Spalletti and Francisco Totti this season has been fraught. The Roma manager has used the 39-year-old midfielder sparingly since retaking the reins of the club, something the former Italy international has publically referred to as 'disrespectful'.

Spalletti decided to give the loyal club servant a run out on Wednesday night at the Stadio Olimpico though. Totti was brought on in the 86th minute to replace Seydou Keita with the score reading Roma 1-2 Torino and had an immediate impact. The Rome-born number 10 scored twice in quick succession to overturn the result and earn the Giallorossi all three points.

Spalletti in his post-match press conference: “Only a real champion can score the goal that Totti scored tonight. In just 15 seconds he did it… it took him only 15 seconds to score! He beat all the Torino defenders and moved to the back post knowing the ball would come there. Only real champions have that sort of intuition, it was like he was radio-controlled”.