Roma have kept the pressure on champions Juventus with a narrow 1-0 win away to Udinese in Serie A.

The visitors took the lead in controversial circumstances on 17 minutes when Davide Astori's header bounced down off the crossbar and onto the line.

There was some confusion following the incident as the Udinese players protested that the whole of the ball did not cross the line, but the referee eventually blew his whistle to give Roma the goal.

The home side had a glorious chance to level things up midway through a tentative opening half, only for Gabriel Silva to shoot wide from close range after some good work from Antonio Di Natale.

With clear-cut opportunities hard to come by, Roma threatened to double their advantage before the break as Francesco Totti had his powerful effort saved by Orestis Karnezis.

The away side looked the more likely to score in the second half, with Maicon, Juan Iturbe and Urby Emanuelson all being denied by Karnezis.

Maicon's low drive from distance was pushed away by the Greek before Iturbe and Emanuelson were both frustrated by the shotstopper.

Karnezis came to his team's rescue again deep in added time, saving from Alessandro Florenzi after the midfielder was put clear through on goal.

Roma were able to hold on for the victory following some late pressure from Udinese, but their afternoon was soured during the final 10 minutes when Adem Ljajic was stretchered off the pitch with a knee injury.