Japanese midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata was substituted at the break Saturday as AS Roma tried to erase a 2-1 halftime deficit, but Lazio held on in a scoreless second half to win the Rome derby and close the gap on Juventus at the top of the Italian league.
Roma took the lead in the third minute in front of 75,000 at the Olympic Stadium when striker Vincenzo Montella stabbed in a cross from captain Francesco Totti, only for Lazio to hit back with two goals in a four-minute spell midway through the first half.
First, Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved equalized with a deflected shot in the 25th minute, before Argentine World Cup star Juan Veron bent a free-kick over the defensive wall and into the top corner from well outside the box.
Nakata, again playing a midfield holding role, was sacrificed with Roma forced to chase the game, but Lazio survived long periods of second-half pressure to move to within six points of Juventus.