Roma crush Udinese to go clear at the top of the league

Roma are clear at the top of Serie A after sweeping Udinese aside 3-1 in Wednesday evening's league match in the Italian capital.

The home side took the lead inside five minutes when Miralem Pjanic linked up with Maicon and side-footed home from 10 yards out.

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Roma made it 2-0 in the 10th minute, with Maicon getting his name on the scoresheet, beating Orestis Karnezis at his near post after collecting a pass from Edin Dzeko.

The second half was almost as one-sided, and Roma put away their third just after the hour mark through Gervinho, who scrambled the ball over the line after Kostas Manolas's cross eluded the Udinese defence.

Udinese struggled to create chances all evening, but they managed to pull a goal back in the 77th minute when Cyril Thereau tucked one into the net from inside the box after being picked out by Rodrigo Aguirre.

Pjanic almost added some gloss to the scoreline in the 89th minute when he blazed a free kick narrowly over, but Roma had to settle for three in the end.

The result keeps them two points clear of Fiorentina, Inter Milan and Napoli at the top of the league.