Roma proved their mettle against Napoli - Garcia

Rudi Garcia praised the "grit" of Roma as they held Napoli to a 0-0 draw at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday.

Maurizio Sarri's side, third in the Serie A standings, enjoyed the majority of possession and almost all the clear-cut chances but could not find a way past a resilient Roma, who remain three points and one place behind them on the table.

Garcia has hit back at suggestions his side were overly negative in their approach and praised his players for battling to a result on a ground where both leaders Inter and champions Juventus have lost this season.

"You can't say we didn't create a single chance," he told Mediaset Premium.

"We did particularly well in the second half and could have won. In the first half, I don't remember a single dangerous moment created by our opponents, and that's in a stadium where Juventus, Fiorentina and Inter have all lost.

"I am happy with the attitude of the team and that's just what I had expected."

Daniele De Rossi thought he had snatched victory for the visitors only for his header to be ruled out as Antonio Rudiger's cross was adjudged to have gone out of play.

"I am not 100 per cent sure about that, in my view there is a bit of the ball that's still in play," Garcia said of the decision. "The rules say the ball has to go over the line completely to be out of play.

"But I'd rather talk about football, anyway. I am happy, I saw a solid Roma that did not allow Napoli any space. A 0-0 at the San Paolo is an interesting result, we showed we have grit and we defended really well."