Serie A roundup: Roma, Inter keep pace with leaders Napoli

Roma and Inter Milan stayed on Serie A leaders Napoli's tails Wednesday.

In the capital, Mario Hermoso headed home his first goal for Roma just after the hour mark before Artem Dovbyk netted the crucial strike with nine minutes remaining as Gian Piero Gasperini's charges maintained their pursuit of Napoli.

Dovbyk's second goal of a troubled start to the season for the Ukraine striker was key as Alessandro Circati pulled one back for Parma shortly afterwards but the 15th-placed side couldn't force an equaliser.

"These are three well-earned points... once we got going we controlled the game, conceded very little and created plenty," said coach Gasperini.

Roma travel to AC Milan on Sunday with the division's best defence -- Circati's strike was just the fourth conceded in nine league matches -- and a chance to prove that they deserve to be in the Scudetto discussion.

Milan are fourth after being overtaken on goal difference by local rivals Inter Milan, who comfortably beat troubled Fiorentina 3-0 at the San Siro and moved into third on 18 points.

A brace from Hakan Calhanoglu and Petar Sucic's sumptuous individual goal, all in the second half, got Inter back on track after losing at Napoli on Saturday.

Calhanoglu opened the scoring with a unstoppable low drive in the 66th minute, finally ending Fiorentina and goalkeeper David de Gea's resistance.

And Sucic doubled the hosts' lead with his first Serie A goal five minutes later, bringing the house down in the process.

Sucic, who signed from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer, collected Lautaro Martinez's pass on the edge of the penalty area before skipping through Fiorentina's defence and, after a perfectly-executed shimmy, rifling home a low finish. 

Calhanoglu rounded off victory with a late penalty won by Ange-Yoan Bonny, leaving Fiorentina in the relegation zone without a win to their name.