Totti struck twice and then provided the assist for Daniele De Rossi to make it 3-0 by half-time.

Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino reduced the deficit in the second half but Roma held on for victory.

"Totti is unpredictable," said Ranieri. "He is the symbol of Roma and has played a great match tonight.

"He scored twice but also provided an assist."

Ranieri expects more of the same from his side in the games to come.

"I want to see my team continue to fight like they are doing," said Ranieri.

"If you play like this, with so much will, determination and quick decision making, it will be difficult for our rivals.

"But we need to give continuity to our results."

Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli was very disappointed after his team's lacklustre performance.

The setback was the first of the season for the Viola in Serie A.

"It's been an ugly night for us," said Prandelli. "We never really got into the game.

"When you play a lot of games, at times players can't react to games like this.

"From the first minutes we saw an aggressive Roma side that wanted the win."

Roma travel to Sicily to meet Palermo on Wednesday while Fiorentina host joint-league leaders Sampdoria in midweek.