Italian leaders stunned at Roma

AS Roma striker Francesco Totti scored a stunning long-range goal just before the hour mark to sink Serie A leaders Juventus 1-0 in their Serie A clash at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday.

The Roma captain ran onto a clearance before smashing the ball past Italy goalkeeper Gianliugi Buffon to leave Juve on 55 points, five ahead of Napoli who host Sampdoria on Sunday.

The win takes Roma up to seventh place on 37 points from 25 games after their first league success this year.

Totti has now scored 224 Serie A goals, one less than the all-time top scorer Gunnar Nordahl, and his strike capped a superb second-half display by Roma, who could have scored more.

Roma’s Daniele De Rossi missed the easiest chance of the night six minutes after they took the lead, completely missing the ball on the edge of the six-yard box.

Juve, who were subdued and failed to punish Roma for their wastefulness, could now find themselves only two points clear at the top if Napoli beat Sampdoria on Sunday.

Earlier, Palermo moved off the bottom with a 1-1 draw at Chievo Verona and are now 19th on 19 points, three points from the safety zone. Chievo rose two places to 11th on 29 points.