Roma must prove themselves after Barcelona thrashing – Garcia

After losing 6-1 to Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek, Rudi Garcia says Roma have a point to prove in Serie A this weekend.

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both scored twice as the Italian side were trounced at Camp Nou on Tuesday, dropping out of the top two places in their group following Bayer Leverkusen’s draw with BATE.

Garcia has now placed the onus on his side to display their true quality when they entertain Atalanta at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

“We have to win before looking at what the other results are. We have to make the most of this opportunity, we are angry and need to prove ourselves,” Garcia said.

“Above all we want to continue our strong Serie A campaign.

“I said after the [Barcelona] game we played perhaps the best team in the world right now. There’s no point going back over that match now.

“There were many fans in Barcelona who were just as disappointed as us, but I look forward and tomorrow we’ll be stronger with the fans supporting the side.”

Roma have conceded 31 goals in 18 games in all competitions this season, but Garcia refused to criticise his defence and instead called for greater consistency.

“I talk about the whole team rather than one department [leaky defence]. We can do better and proved we can,” he continued.

“When every player is motivated and eager to help his teammate, then we can think of not conceding a goal.

“Mind you, I’ve said that I am happy to win 3-2. We can’t have the strongest strike force in Serie A without taking some risks. What we do need to improve is our consistency.”

Having sat out the clash with Barcelona, Garcia confirmed Daniele De Rossi will be available on Sunday.

“Daniele De Rossi has 100 per cent recovered,” he added.

“I couldn’t risk him in Barcelona, especially with a ban hanging over him. The team has trained well and responded well to my questions on a physical level too.”