Match ends, Roma 1, Napoli 0.
Roma 1-0 Napoli
- From the section European Football
Roma strengthened their hold on a Champions League spot thanks to victory over Napoli, who are also chasing a European place.
Miralem Pjanic scored the only goal after 25 minutes, sidefooting in Alessandro Florenzi's cross.
Napoli had chances to level but Roma keeper Morgan De Sanctis did well to twice deny Dries Mertens and Manolo Gabbiadini.
It was Roma's first home win in nine Serie A games, a run going back to 30 November.
Rudi Garcia's remain 14 points behind leaders Juventus, who beat Empoli 2-0, but increased their chances of the top-three finish required for Champions League qualification.
Roma are now seven points clear of fourth place after Sampdoria lost 2-0 at Fiorentina, conceding twice in three second-half minutes.
Former West Ham midfielder Alessandro Diamanti opened the scoring before on-loan Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah added a second to lift La Viola into fourth, above Sampdoria, who remain a point ahead of Rafael Benitez's Napoli.
In the 14:00 BST games, Jeremy Menez scored a late winner as AC Milan beat fellow mid-table side Palermo 2-1.
Roberto Mancini's Inter Milan were held 1-1 by bankrupt Parma, who have been funded by the Italian league to see out their fixtures.
Cesena came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Verona in the most entertaining game of the day.
Torino beat Atalanta 2-1, Lazio saw off Cagliari 3-1, Genoa and Udinese drew 1-1 and Sassuolo beat Chievo 1-0.
Line-ups
Roma
- 26De Sanctis
- 35TorosidisBooked at 72mins
- 44Manolas
- 23Astori
- 25HolebasBooked at 21minsSubstituted forYanga-Mbiwaat 71'minutes
- 15PjanicSubstituted forParedesat 68'minutes
- 16De RossiBooked at 11mins
- 4Nainggolan
- 24FlorenziBooked at 55minsSubstituted forIbarboat 80'minutes
- 8Ljajic
- 7Iturbe
Substitutes
- 1Lobont
- 2Yanga-Mbiwa
- 3Cole
- 19Ibarbo
- 28Skorupski
- 32Paredes
- 33Spolli
- 42Balzaretti
- 52Pellegrini
- 53Verde
- 88Doumbia
Napoli
- 45Andujar
- 11Maggio
- 33AlbiolBooked at 32mins
- 5Britos
- 31Ghoulam
- 8Jorginho
- 19López Silva
- 7CallejónSubstituted forGabbiadiniat 62'minutes
- 6de GuzmánSubstituted forInsigneat 81'minutes
- 14Mertens
- 9HiguaínSubstituted forZapataat 77'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Barbosa
- 3Strinic
- 4Adriano Buss
- 15Colombo
- 16Mesto
- 17Hamsik
- 18Zuñiga
- 23Gabbiadini
- 24Insigne
- 26Koulibaly
- 77Gargano
- 91Zapata
- Referee:
- Nicola Rizzoli
- Attendance:
- 34,425
Match Stats
Home TeamRomaAway TeamNapoli
- Possession
- Home47%
- Away53%
- Shots
- Home7
- Away13
- Shots on Target
- Home2
- Away5
- Corners
- Home2
- Away5
- Fouls
- Home18
- Away10
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Roma 1, Napoli 0.
Corner, Napoli. Conceded by Vasilis Torosidis.
David López (Napoli) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Leandro Paredes (Roma).
Offside, Roma. Adem Ljajic tries a through ball, but Radja Nainggolan is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Juan Iturbe (Roma) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Víctor Ibarbo with a through ball.
Attempt saved. Radja Nainggolan (Roma) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Juan Iturbe.
Foul by Duván Zapata (Napoli).
Víctor Ibarbo (Roma) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Napoli. Conceded by Kostas Manolas.
Christian Maggio (Napoli) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Adem Ljajic (Roma).
Substitution
Substitution, Napoli. Lorenzo Insigne replaces Jonathan de Guzmán.
Substitution
Substitution, Roma. Víctor Ibarbo replaces Alessandro Florenzi.
Attempt saved. Manolo Gabbiadini (Napoli) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Dries Mertens.
Substitution
Substitution, Napoli. Duván Zapata replaces Gonzalo Higuaín.
Offside, Roma. Adem Ljajic tries a through ball, but Alessandro Florenzi is caught offside.
Foul by Juan Iturbe (Roma).
Christian Maggio (Napoli) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Juan Iturbe (Roma).
Christian Maggio (Napoli) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, Napoli. Dries Mertens tries a through ball, but Jonathan de Guzmán is caught offside.
Booking
Vasilis Torosidis (Roma) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Vasilis Torosidis (Roma).
Manolo Gabbiadini (Napoli) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Juan Iturbe (Roma) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Substitution
Substitution, Roma. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa replaces José Holebas.
Attempt missed. Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right following a set piece situation.
Foul by Alessandro Florenzi (Roma).
Dries Mertens (Napoli) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Roma. Leandro Paredes replaces Miralem Pjanic because of an injury.
Corner, Napoli. Conceded by Morgan De Sanctis.
Attempt saved. Manolo Gabbiadini (Napoli) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Jonathan de Guzmán with a cross.
Attempt missed. Miguel Britos (Napoli) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Manolo Gabbiadini with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Napoli. Conceded by Vasilis Torosidis.
Foul by Davide Astori (Roma).
Gonzalo Higuaín (Napoli) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Dries Mertens (Napoli) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by David López.