AS Roma coach Claudio Ranieri defended hooking Francesco Totti after their 5-1 thrashing by Cagliari.

Totti was taken off after Nicolas Burdisso saw red.

"I already had a reshuffled defence anyway, so I had to balance the side," explained Ranieri.

"Besides, in three days we have a crucial Champions League match against Bayern Munich, so I preferred to rest Totti and keep the squad solid."

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