ROME (AFP) - Francesco Totti and Alessandro Mancini fired a goal apiece to give Roma a come-from-behind 2-1 victory at Atalanta on Sunday which keeps their title hopes alive.
Champions and leaders Inter Milan cruised to a 3-2 win at lowly Siena and when Roma fell a goal behind, it looked as if the title race could be over.
Instead the capital-based club pegged Inter's lead at the top to seven points, with third-placed Juventus dropping to 10 points back after a 1-1 draw at Catania on Saturday.
In the race for the Champions League, fourth-placed Udinese kept their noses in front of Fiorentina after a solid 1-0 win at Cagliari while the Viola triumphed 2-1 in Parma.
In Atalanta things looked desperate for Roma when Adriano Pinto put the hosts ahead on 17 minutes.
But Totti rifled home a free-kick under a jumping wall on 38 minutes and Mancini's rasping drive on the stroke of half-time proved enough to secure three vital points.
Totti admitted afterwards that Roma were not holding much hope of catching the leaders.
"Of course it will be difficult to catch Inter if they keep winning," he said. "The nerazzurri are just that little bit better than everyone else.
"The important thing is to keep Juventus behind us, hold on to second place and hope that eventually the leaders slip up."
In Siena Inter predictably coasted to a victory that never looked in doubt once top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic had given them a 26th minute lead from the spot, following a generously-awarded penalty for a foul on Julio Cruz.
Siena briefly got back on level terms when former Middlesbrough forward Massimo Maccarone bundled the ball home off Colombian defender Ivan Cordoba.
But Argentina midfielder Esteban Cambiasso poked home from close range, following good work from Ibrahimovic, just before the break to restore Inter's lead.
The Sweden forward then thrashed home a rising drive early in the second period to secure unbeaten Inter's 14th win in 18 league matches this season.
Fernando Forestieri scored a scorching half-volley for Siena deep into injury time.
Inter coach Roberto Mancini continued to play down his team's insatiable march to the title.
"We're not even at the halfway stage of the season yet," he insisted. "The most important thing was to come back after the winter break and win."
Udinese closed the gap to Juventus to four points after Fabio Quagliarella's shot crept into the far corner to secure the victory.
Former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu scored twice, including the winner from the spot five minutes from time, against Parma who had scored through Senegalese defender Ferdinand Coly.
On Saturday veteran forward Alessandro Del Piero won and converted a last-minute penalty to earn Juventus a 1-1 draw in Sicily.
The loss of two points, however, blew a hole in their fading title aspirations.
Del Piero was tripped in the box by Marco Biagianti before sending goalkeeper Ciro Polito the wrong way from 12 yards after Gionathan Spinesi had brilliantly flicked home a cross from Giuseppe Mascara in the first period.
