A first-half strike from Miralem Pjanic was enough to hand Roma a 1-0 win over Napoli at Stadio Olimpico in Serie A this afternoon.
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The visitors were on the attack from the start as Jorginho made a run down the flank before looking to get a cross in, while Gonzalo Higuain saw his first effort blocked.
Jorginho had a chance to take on a shot himself midway through the first half when he created some space on the edge of the box before curling his effort towards goal, but it finished well high of the crossbar.
Despite Napoli's bright start, Roma took the lead with less than half an hour gone when Alessandro Florenzi played a through-ball to Pjanic, leaving the striker to rifle the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Dries Mertens and Jonathan de Guzman both tried to get Rafael Benitez's side back on level terms before the interval, but they both saw their finishes blocked.
Mertens was on the charge again early in the second half as Napoli continued to push for an equaliser, but Morgan de Sanctis made a diving save to deny the visitors.
The Roma keeper had to be alert again a few minutes later as Mertens picked up another ball forward before attempting to pick out the bottom corner, but De Sanctis kept it out.
The hosts tried to make their advantage more comfortable as Lorenzi played the ball in towards Pjanic again, but the delivery was cleared, while Metens had his cross turned behind for a corner.
Napoli continued to look the more likely though as Manolo Gabbiadini connected with a ball into the box, slicing the ball towards the roof of the net, but De Sanctis just got his fingertips to it.
As the final 10 minutes approached, the visitors continued to dictate the play, but Gabbiadini was once again thwarted by the Roma keeper as he fired a low finish towards the goal.
Radja Nainggolan had a couple of opportunities to put the win beyond doubt for the home side in the final moments, but his first effort was cleared by Lorenzo Insigne before he was flagged for offside while looking to get into another promising position.
Mertens managed to force a corner deep in stoppage time as Napoli continued to press, but it was easily cleared by the hosts to make sure of the Roma win.
The result leaves Roma second in the table, 11 points behind Juventus, while Napoli stay fifth.
Sian Cowper
