Rudi Garcia has paid tribute to his Roma team for pulling out a "huge result" by drawing 1-1 with Barcelona in their Champions League opener at Stadio Olimpico tonight.

Luis Suarez fired the reigning champions ahead on 21 minutes, but Garcia's men levelled up in style when Alessandro Florenzi equalised from almost the halfway line 10 minutes later as the Giallorossi got their Group E campaign underway with a hard-fought point.

"It's a huge result to draw with Barcelona and really boosts our confidence," he told Mediaset Premium. "We were tactically smart, knew that against Barcelona you have to work hard and defend stoically.

"We could've done better in holding possession and being dangerous on the counter, but I am satisfied, as the lads responded well and did what we had prepared."

Both sides share the group with Bayer Leverkusen and BATE Borisov, with the Germans winning 4-1 at the BayArena tonight to move two points clear early on.