Garcia applauds ´phenomenal´ Avramov after Cagliari draw

Roma head coach Rudi Garcia labelled Cagliari goalkeeper Vlada Avramov’s performance ‘phenomenal’ after the 0-0 draw between the teams.

Roma head coach Rudi Garcia labelled Cagliari goalkeeper Vlada Avramov’s performance ‘phenomenal’ after the 0-0 draw between the teams.

Garcia’s men failed to reclaim top spot in Serie A, closing to within a point of league leaders Juventus after the stalemate at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday.

The Frenchman was pleased with his team’s performance despite the draw, while he added they needed to work on their set-pieces.

“I think we have done well and it is important that when we do not win that we do not concede goals. Therefore we cannot lose,” Garcia told Sky Sport Italia.

“We played a good game but Avramov was phenomenal but we must still improve especially on set-pieces, which we will train hard on this week.”

Garcia lamented the timing of the international break and felt his players struggled with their fitness in the second half.

“I think our problem was that some players were not on the same physical level as others,” he said.

“(Daniele) De Rossi and other players had only trained briefly with us during their national commitments and when this happens, there is a second half decline.

“The intensity of the players is then not the same and it affects the team’s performance.”

Midfielder Daniele De Rossi played down the significance of the result but said his team got what they deserved after failing to take their opportunities.

“We had a lot of chances,” he said.

“I don’t think we can complain though. We created so many chances but you can see that there are no problems from an offensive point of view.

“We tried right until the final whistle. We can’t complain though.

“We’re six points ahead of fourth place, and the goal has always been the Champions League.”