Roma thumps Udinese to keep pressure on leaders
Roma was 4-0 up after only 37 minutes at Udinese as it overwhelmed its lowly host, second-bottom on five points, eventually winning 5-2 to stay third in Serie A.
AC Milan's victory in the Derby Della Madonnina over Inter Milan left the defending champion on 25 points, and Lazio could now move three points clear at the summit if it beats Cagliari on Monday (AEDT).
But Roma, which is third on 24 points, is maintaining the pressure on its rivals and remains unbeaten, and Milan is coming into the picture too, sitting fourth on 21 points, although Como could leapfrog Ruben Amorim's side with a win in its match against Venezia later on Sunday (AEDT).
Bryan Cristante headed the first goal after 10 minutes, before Matias Soule and Donyell Malen struck the woodwork.
Rodrigo Mora netted the second in the 31st minute after being set up by Cristante, and two minutes later Malen scored his eighth Serie A goal of the season.
Evan Ndicka headed the fourth from a corner before halftime after which Udinese mounted something of a comeback. Nicolo Zaniolo and Matteo Palma scored for the hosts but Daniele Ghilardi added a fifth, his first Serie A goal, for Roma.
"If we play like this there is a chance," Cristante said.
"The league is not easy and it's nice to stay in [the title race]. We are scoring a lot and that is very important."
In the other match of the day, Bologna climbed to ninth with a third successive league win thanks to a 2-1 victory over Monza, its first home success since April.
Tommaso Pobega and Federico Bernardeschi netted for Bologna, after the visitors converted an early penalty through Gustavo Varela, the top Serie A scorer with nine goals in as many games.
He had been substituted by the time Monza was awarded a second penalty in the final 10 minutes and this time Patrick Cutrone missed from the spot as it was denied a point.
