Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata came off the bench and made another important contribution to AS Roma's title challenge Saturday as the Serie A leaders edged Atalanta Bergamo 1-0 at home to stay five points clear at the top of the table.
Nakata, who played a pivotal role in Roma's dramatic fight back for a 2-2 draw last week at Juventus, replaced Francesco Totti on the hour to thunderous applause from the Roma faithful hoping to see a repeat performance of the midfield dynamo's heroics in Turin.
And supersub Nakata responded minutes later by sending in a left wing corner for Vincenzo Montella, scorer of last week's last gasp equalizer, to scramble home a close range shot to keep Fabio Capello's side on course for its first title in 18 years.
Roma's hard-earned victory lifts it to 67 points, while archrivals Lazio stayed in touch with the leaders in second on 62 points after twice coming from behind to win 4-2 at Napoli, despite having midfielder Juan Veron sent off.
Juventus, 3-1 winners at Fiorentina on Friday evening, have 61 points. All three sides have four matches remaining.