Rome: Roma won 2-0 at Novara with two second-half goals to snap a two-match losing streak and ease the pressure on manager Luis Enrique in the Serie A on Saturday.
Substitute Bojan Krkic put Roma in front with a volley following a lob pass from Miralem Pjanic in the 72nd minute.
Argentine-born Italy international Pablo Osvaldo then doubled Roma's lead by heading in a corner in the 76th for his fifth goal of the season.
In between the scores, Novara midfielder Filippo Porcari hit the post.
"Our approach was better in the second half. After Bojan came on we had another man in the area," said Luis Enrique. "I'm happy for the lads and the fans and also my family, which suffers a little more than me."
Aged 21 and 23, respectively, Bojan and Osvaldo are forwards Roma signed from the Spanish league in the offseason as part of a renewal project by the club's new American ownership. Pjanic, 21, who was signed from Lyon, is also part of the youth movement.
Roma has been playing for weeks without injured captain Francesco Totti.
The victory moved Roma back into the top half of the table, five points behind Italian league leader Juventus; while Novara remained in the relegation zone.
Juventus leads with 19 points, Udinese and Lazio are next with 18 each, and AC Milan has 17.
On Sunday, Juventus faces a tough test at Napoli, Udinese hosts Siena, Lazio plays Parma and Milan faces Catania at the San Siro.
Earlier, Palermo moved within three points of the lead with a 3-1 win over Bologna.
Israel midfielder Eran Zahavi put Palermo ahead by hitting home a rebound 13 minutes in at the Sicilian club's Renzo Barbera Stadium.
Argentine defender Matias Silvestre doubled the lead with a header in the 52nd and Slovenia midfielder Josip Ilicic finished off a counterattack to make it 3-0 in the 75th.
Bologna's highly rated 20-year-old forward Gaston Ramirez pulled one back for Bologna in the 87th.
Ilicic also hit the crossbar with a long shot in the 33rd.
The match pitted Bologna manager Stefano Pioli against the club that fired him before the season began. Palermo remained perfect at home with its fifth consecutive win under new coach Devis Mangia, who was promoted from the youth squad after Pioli's dismissal.
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