Juventus had a Stephan Lichsteiner strike early in the second half to thank for a cagey 1-0 win away to Palermo yesterday.
Juventus’s 12th win of the campaign saw them end the day four points clear of second-placed Inter who beat third-placed Napoli 2-1 in last night’s match.
However it was a nervous win for the champions, who despite dominating the second half – when Palermo’s Swiss defender Michel Morganella was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 75th minute – failed to convert a number of scoring chances.
Swiss midfielder Lichsteiner settled Juve’s nerves when he broke the deadlock on 50 minutes although most of the work had been done by striker Mirko Vucinic, who latched on to Andrea Pirlo’s long ball and sent Lichsteiner through to beat Albanian ‘keeper Samir Ujkani.
Juve were frustrated by later misses from Vucinic and defender Leonardo Bonucci, who was through on goal but ended up being shown a yellow card for simulation after he had been tackled by Ujkani, but finally managed to take all three points.
Inter are now the nearest challengers to Juventus at the top of Serie A after defeating Napoli at the San Siro.
Inter took the lead after only eight minutes when Freddy Guarin was left totally alone at the far post to meet a corner and beat Morgan De Sanctis after racing into the penalty area.
Diego Milito doubled Inter's lead in the 39th minute with a shot into the far corner which De Sanctis, despite making contact, was unable to keep out.
Edinson Cavani did get a goal back for the visitors, but they paid the price for poor finishing and misfortune in front of goal as they relinquished second spot and fell five points behind Juventus, with Inter one point above them.
In Turin, Milan enjoyed a positive afternoon after beating Torino 4-2.
The Rossoneri had got off to the worse possible start when Argentinian Mario Santana pounced on a poor back pass from Antonio Nocerino to run down on goal and score a 28th minute opener for the hosts.
Robinho settled Milan’s nerves 12 minutes later when he collected Mattia De Sciglio’s pass in the area, feinted past Valerio di Cesare and beat Belgian keeper Jean-Francois Gillet with a sublime shot.
Nocerino made up for his earlier blunder when he beat Gillet in the 53rd minute to put Milan ahead and striker Giampaolo Pazzini added a third with his sixth goal of the campaign eight minutes later.
Milan were finally able to breathe easy on 76 minutes when Stephan El Shaarawy pounced to claim his 13th league goal of the season. Torino striker Rolando Bianchi scored a late consolation for the Granate.
Pescara, meanwhile, moved off the bottom of the table thanks to a 2-0 home win over fellow strugglers Genoa.
The Serie A newcomers’ fourth win of the campaign puts them on 14 points, three ahead of new basement side Siena whose 3-1 defeat to Catania was their seventh of the season.
While Lazio are not in action until tonight the Biancocelesti will be expected to take some reward from their trip to Bologna.
Roma, meanwhile, cemented fifth place on Saturday thanks to a 4-2 win over Fiorentina who sit sixth, also on 29 points with Lazio and Roma.
Serie A
Cagliari 0
Chievo 2
Paloschi 67; Thereau 87;
HT: 0-0. Att: 12,000.
Inter 2
Guarin 8; Milito 39;
Napoli 1
Cavani 54;
HT: 2-0. Att: 41,000.
Palermo 0
Juventus 1
Lichtsteiner 50;
HT: 0-0. Att: 17,000.
Red card: Morganella (P) 75.
Pescara 2
Abbruscato 52; Vukusic 73;
Genoa 0
HT: 0-0. Att: 8,000.
Siena 1
Rosina 10;
Catania 3
Castro 50; Bergessio 67, 82;
HT: 1-0. Att: 8,240.
Torino 2
Santana 28; Bianchi 80;
Milan 4
Robinho 40; Nocerino 53; Pazzini 61; El Shaarawy 76;
HT: 1-1. Att: 15,000.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 10 | 38 |
| Inter | 16 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 17 | 34 |
| Napoli | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 14 | 33 |
| Roma | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 38 | 26 | 29 |
| Fiorentina | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 18 | 29 |
| Lazio | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 18 | 29 |
| Milan | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 21 | 24 |
| Catania | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 24 | 22 |
| Atalanta | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 23 | 21 |
| Parma | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 22 | 20 |
| Udinese | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 24 | 19 |
| Chievo | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 18 |
| Sampdoria | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 21 | 17 |
| Cagliari | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 26 | 16 |
| Torino | 16 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 15 |
| Bologna | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 17 | 20 | 14 |
| Palermo | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 23 | 14 |
| Pescara | 16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 30 | 14 |
| Genoa | 16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 28 | 12 |
| Siena | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 11 |
Today
Sampdoria vs Udinese - 19.00
Bologna vs Lazio - 21.00
Top scorers
13 goals: El Shaarawy (Milan).
11 goals: Cavani (Napoli).
9 goals: Klose (Lazio).
Next fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Udinese vs Palermo. 20.45 Lazio vs Inter.
Sunday: 12.30 Fiorentina vs Siena. 15.00 Milan vs Pescara; Catania vs Sampdoria; Chievo vs Roma; Genoa vs Torino; Juventus vs Atalanta; Parma vs Cagliari. 20.45 Napoli vs Bologna.
Serie B
Cittadella vs Varese - 0-1
Prima Divisione ‘A’
Como vs V. Entella 0-1; Lecce vs SudTirol 0-1; Pavia vs Reggiana 1-0; Portogruaro vs Cremonese 0-2; San Marino vs FeralpiSalo pp; Trapani vs AlbinoLeffe 1-3; Treviso vs Lumezzane 1-1; Tritium vs Carpi 1-1.
Leading standings: Lecce 29; Carpi 26; SudTirol 25; V. Entella 23;.
Prima Divisione ‘B’
Andria vs Avellino 0-2; Barletta vs Carrarese 2-2; Catanzaro vs Sorrento 1-0; Frosinone vs Paganese 2-2; Latina vs Gubbio 2-0; Nocerina vs Benevento 3-2; Perugia vs Viareggio 4-1; Pisa vs Prato 1-1.
Leading standings: Latina, Pisa 24; Avellino 23; Frosinone 22; Gubbio 21.