Tammy Abraham struck the decisive goal in Roma's 2-1 win at Empoli on Monday which put them a point behind a trio of sides leading the way in Serie A.
Roma are just behind Napoli, Atalanta and AC Milan after Abraham forced home Paulo Dybala's cross from close range in the 71st minute.
The impressive Dybala had opened the scoring for the away side, who came into Monday's match off the back of two bad defeats at the hands of Udinese and Ludogorets, in the 17th minute with a beautifully guided shot after having already hit the post.
Jose Mourinho's side were looking at another poor result two minutes before the break when Filippo Bandinelli reacted brilliantly to bad Roma defending by guiding home a header from Petar Stojanovic's cross.
A draw would not have flattered Empoli who struck the woodwork through Martin Satriano and Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro and created opportunities after Akpa Akpro was sent off in the final few minutes.
But Abraham's second goal of the season was just enough to seal the three points, with Lorenzo Pellegrini also missing a penalty with 10 minutes remaining.
Monza sack Stroppa
Monza have sacked coach Giovanni Stroppa, the Serie A club announced on Tuesday, after a poor start to their first Serie A season left them bottom of the table.
In a statement, Monza said the club's former youth team coach, Raffaele Palladino, would take charge of the team.
Stroppa took Monza up to Serie A for the first time in their history but just one point from their opening six games in the top flight wasn't enough for owner and former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi.
Monza bought an almost entire new team after being promoted via the playoffs, signing players with extensive experience in the top division like Andrea Ranocchia, Stefano Sensi, Matteo Pessina, and Alessio Cragno.