Roma climbed to the Serie A summit as goals in either half from Lorenzo Pellegrini and Zeki Celik sealed a 2-0 win over Udinese at Stadio Olimpico. 

Having seen AC Milan drop points to Parma on Saturday and Napoli fall to defeat at Bologna ahead of kick-off, the Giallorossi took full advantage to lead the division by two points. 

Inter have the chance to replace Gian Piero Gasperini's side at the top later on Sunday, however, when they host Lazio at San Siro.

Roma's swift start saw Manu Kone test Maduka Okoye in the 13th minute, but from there, the hosts struggled to create any clear-cut chances as they searched for the opener. 

But they were gifted the chance to take the lead three minutes before the break when Udinese defender Hassane Kamar handled the ball inside the penalty area. 

Roma captain Pellegrini stepped up to dispatch the resulting spot-kick, sending Okoye the wrong way to pick out the bottom-right corner of the net. 

Udinese started brightly after the break when Adam Buksa tested Mile Svilar, but Roma doubled their advantage just after the hour through Celik's neatly taken finish. 

Data Debrief: A good omen for Roma?

Roma have not won the Scudetto since the 2000-01 season, but their strong start under Gasperini in 2025 has them dreaming of glory once again. 

Indeed, the Giallorossi have registered at least 24 points after their first 11 Serie A games of a season for the sixth time in the three-points-per-win era.

In all previous five, they have ended the campaign inside the top three, the last coming in 2017-18 when they finished third. 

And they were worthy of their win here, registering an expected goals (xG) total of 1.56 from their 13 shots to Udinese's 1.12 from their 10 attempts, with their victory aided by Pellegrini's first-half penalty. 

He has now scored two goals in seven appearances this season, the same number he scored in the previous campaign (two in 25 matches).

Since his first goal in the division in December 2015, Pellegrini is also the Italian midfielder with the most Serie A goals (47).