Serie A: Rudi Garcia insists "winning was the only option" against Cesena

Rudi Garcia insists "winning was the only option" against Cesena on Wednesday night and the Roma coach was suitably delighted with the victory that followed.

The Giallorossi are now level on points with Juventus at the top of the Serie A table after goals from Mattia Destro and Daniele De Rossi downed Cesena 2-0 while the club from Turin were handed a 1-0 defeat at Genoa.

Roma had struggled to recover from the disappointment of losing to their fierce rivals Juve earlier this month, notably dropping two valuable points from a goalless draw at Sampdoria, but Garcia believes they are now back on track.

"It was important for us to get the win tonight," he told asroma.it. "Anything else would have been a bad result.

"The guys did well to get the first goal because when you're playing against teams like Cesena who sit tight it's crucial to get the opener. We then managed to add a second and ended the game without too much worry.

"If you want to score against sides like Cesena you need to open up spaces by moving the ball about.

"Another plus is that we kept a clean sheet again tonight. It's great to see us defending so well, especially as we know we're always capable of scoring.

"What matters now is that we stay on this path: I don't think seven wins from nine games is a bad return.

"I'm delighted with the victory. As I said before the game, winning was the only option tonight."