Roma have kept alive their hopes of winning the Scudetto with a dominant 3-0 win over Livorno at the Stadio Olimpico.

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Striker Mattia Destro put the home side in front inside six minutes when he latched onto Gervinho's low cross to power the ball past the helpless Francesco Bardi.

The hosts didn't rest on that lead as both Mehdi Benatia and Miralem Pjanic went close to adding a second midway through the first period.

It was little surprise that Rudi Garcia's side increased their lead on 36 minutes when Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman tucked the ball home beyond the reach of the Livorno keeper.

Gervinho came close to scoring a third just before the break when the Ivorian got on the end of Vasilis Torosidis's cross, only to see his effort trickle past the post.

Roma continued in much the same vein after the interval, but it was the visitors who could have pulled a goal back on 54 minutes when Marco Biagianti's ball found Leandro Greco, but he wasted his opportunity by dragging the shot wide.

The hosts tried to put the result beyond doubt with Pjanic and Dodo threatening on several occasions as the half progressed.

However, it wasn't until the 78th minute that the Romans sealed victory when former Fiorentina attacker Adem Ljajic latched onto Radja Nainggolan's pass before putting his right-footed shot in the bottom left corner of Bardi's net.

The result briefly pulls Roma to within five points of Juventus at the top of Serie A, with the Turin side hosting Sampdoria later on Saturday.