Giallorossi make it nine straight wins to start the season.
Ahead of their trip to the Stadio Friuli on Sunday, there were doubts surrounding the validity of Roma’s title challenge in the face of adversity and absentees.
Both Francesco Totti and Gervinho, who had been integral to their early season success, were missing with hamstring strains, while Udinese were a formidable force at home.
The struggle was further compounded with Maicon being sent off, however despite the Brazilian’s absence in the second-half it was Michael Bradley who stepped up to seal yet another three points.
For a club that has had a history of comical collapses, coach Rudi Garcia has instilled within his squad a new desire and focus, and they have shown little sign of slowing down with their remarkable defensive record continuing.
Having already shown their ability to sweep opposition aside, the Giallorossi showed another side to their capabilities with a hard-fought win that means they have now scored 23 goals in nine games, and conceded just one.
If Garcia was hoping to control the level of expectation, it will become more and more of a difficult task for the French tactician if the victories continue to arrive.
Elsewhere, both Napoli and Juventus kept up the pressure on Sunday with comfortable wins, with the latter bouncing back from recent disappointment against Genoa.
While Napoli will undoubtedly be delighted that Gonzalo Higuain has returned to goal-scoring form, albeit through a pair of penalties, Carlos Tevez ensured there was a significant Argentinian influence on results this weekend.
In contrast, the struggle for AC Milan continues after they lost a thriller at the Tardini against Parma. Despite fighting back from a two-goal deficit, a late Marco Parolo free-kick sealed the win for the home side, which now leaves the Rossoneri with an 11-point gap to the top three.
Given that they put together a comeback to rescue a Champions League spot last season, Massimiliano Allegri’s side should not be ruled out at this stage. However, with each passing week things become more difficult and with fundamental fixtures against direct rivals ahead, he will know that things must change sooner rather later.
City rivals Inter Milan have had no such issues in recent times, with former patron Massimo Morratti given the perfect send off with a 4-2 win over Hellas Verona, with new owner Erick Thohir looking ahead to making the club even more competitive with his increased level of investment.
Serie A Results: Sampdoria 1-0 Atalanta; Inter Milan 4-2 Hellas Verona; Napoli 2-0 Torino; Bologna 1-0 Livorno; Catania 0-0 Sassuolo; Chievo Verona 1-2 Fiorentina; Juventus 2-0 Genoa; Parma 3-2 AC Milan; Udinese 0-1 Roma; Lazio 2-0 Cagliari.
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