Juve stretch lead as Inter lose to Fiorentina

Juventus stretched their Serie A lead last night despite a 1-1 draw at home to Parma after second-placed Inter lost 2-1 at Fiorentina.

The results gave Juventus 63 points from 24 matches, nine ahead of Inter, who they meet at the San Siro on Sunday.

Third-placed Milan (51 points) made up ground on the top two with a 5-0 demolition of Treviso.

Juventus, who had won all 12 of their league matches at the Stadio delle Alpi this season, fell behind in the 39th minute when Daniele Dessena fired Marco Marchionni's low cross into the net at Gianluigi Buffon's near post.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled Juve level six minutes later, running on to Adrian Mutu's long forward pass before slotting the ball past keeper Matteo Guardalben.

Guardalben did well to beat away a Mutu shot early in the second half, but it was Parma who wasted the best chance to retake the lead when Corradi pounced on Manuele Blasi's short backpass to go through alone on goal only to shoot wide.

The game almost ended on a sour note when Patrick Vieira dived theatrically to earn the hosts an 89th-minute penalty.

Juventus, who benefited from a series of favourable refereeing decisions in a 1-0 win over Udinese at the weekend, seemed about to win another match in controversial circumstances but Del Piero blasted his spot kick against the bar.

That miss was the only bright spot of a dismal evening for Inter, who had dropped just two points in their previous 14 Serie A matches before arriving at Florence's Franchi stadium.

The match was billed as a face-off between strikers Adriano and Luca Toni but it was unsung midfielder Cristian Brocchi who put Fiorentina ahead in the 10th minute with a shot from the edge of the area that dipped under keeper Julio Cesar.

Inter grew stronger as the first half progressed and it was only a series of good saves by keeper Bogdan Lobont that preserved Fiorentina's lead at the break.

Midfielder Luis Jimenez extended Fiorentina's lead when he hooked a shot round Inter defender Walter Samuel on the hour.

Although second-half substitute Alvaro Recoba pulled a goal back for Inter with a late free-kick, the visitors lacked their usual fluency.

Of the top three, only Milan enjoyed an easy win as they crushed relegation candidates Treviso at home.

Milan kept their powder dry for the second period as Brazilian playmaker Kaka gave them a slender half-time lead with a goal in the 14th minute.

After the break, though, a 20-minute blitz by Milan from the 53rd minute saw an Andriy Shevchenko brace and a goal each by Alberto Gilardino and Filippo Inzaghi complete the rout.

Roma (45 points), who are fifth, racked up a club record eighth consecutive Serie A win after a stoppage-time penalty by Francesco Totti gave them a 4-3 home victory over Cagliari.

Serie A

Ascoli 0
Livorno 0

Chievo 1
Sampdoria 1

Fiorentina 2
Inter 1

Juventus 1
Parma 1

Lecce 1
Empoli 2

Messina 0
Siena 0

Milan 5
Treviso 0

Palermo 3
Lazio 1

Roma 4
Cagliari 3

Udinese 1
Reggina 2

Top Scorers

22 goals Toni (Fiorentina)
18 goals Trezeguet (Juventus)
15 goals Totti (Roma)
14 goals Shevchenko (Milan)
13 goals Tavano (Empoli), Gilardino (Milan)
12 goals Adriano (Inter), Lucarelli (Livorno), Suazo (Cagliari)
10 goals Chiesa (Siena)

Next Fixtures

Saturday
Treviso vs Chievo 6 p.m.
Lazio vs Udinese 8.30 p.m.

Sunday - 3 p.m.
Cagliari vs Lecce
Empoli vs Palermo
Inter vs Juventus 8.30 p.m.
Livorno vs Fiorentina

Parma vs Ascoli
Reggina vs Milan
Sampdoria vs Messina
Siena vs Roma

Serie B

Played Yesterday
Catania vs Crotone 3-2
Catanzaro vs Triestina 2-1