Milan, Nov 26: Antonio Di Natale scored his ninth goal of the season to help Udinese beat Roma 2-0 on Friday and return to the top of the Serie A standings.
Di Natale broke the deadlock in the 79th minute with his ninth goal of the season. Mauricio Isla sealed the victory two minutes from time with a simple finish.
Udinese now has 24 points, two more than Juventus and Lazio who face each other Saturday evening.
Roma, which remains fifth on 17 points, was clearly missing captain Francesco Totti who limped out of training Wednesday with an ankle injury.
The capital side struggled to create chances in a tight game, in which neither goalkeeper was really tested.
Roma's best chance came at the end of the first half but Miralem Pjanic fired wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.