Roma took the lead through a penalty kick from Francesco Totti, and Mauricio Pinilla equalized from the spot before the interval.

Jeremy Menez and Mirko Vucinic wasted chances that would have wrapped the game up for Roma.

After Hernandez's brace, Vucinic hit his ninth goal of the season but it was Palermo who came closest to adding to the score through a fierce shot from Javier Pastore.

The result comes a day after Roma was bought for $100 million by American investors led by Boston executive Thomas DiBenedetto.