[attach id=238201 size="medium"]Milan’s Mario Balotelli runs clear of Inter’s Ricky Alvarez.[/attach]

Ezequiel Schelotto’s second-half equaliser salvaged a point for Inter last night in the derby as Milan had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

The Serie A stalemate will be seen as little help to either club’s hopes of gaining a Champions League place for next season, and gives Lazio the chance to take third place when they face second-bottom Pescara tonight.

Milan, for whom Mario Balotelli was a threat in attack, stand third for now, a point ahead of Lazio and Inter but six points adrift of second-placed Napoli.

Stephan El Shaarawy scored the opener for Milan with a dipping left-footed drive in the 21st minute.

But substitute Schelotto made an impact off the bench, heading in after 72 minutes to ensure Inter would not finish empty-handed.

Juventus extended their lead at the top of the table to seven points thanks to a 3-0 home win over Siena.

Stephan Lichtsteiner scored a 30th-minute opener and Sebastian Giovinco made it 2-0 after 73 minutes, with Paul Pogba then netting a third goal in the dying stages.

Daniele Conti scored the winner deep into stoppage time as Cagliari and nine-man Torino contested one of the most dramatic games of the Serie A season – inside an empty stadium.

Cagliari won it 4-3 but the Sardinian club were barred from hosting fans at the Stadio Is Arenas due to ongoing safety concerns and local supporters were urged to stay at home and follow the game on television.

Marco Sau gave the hosts the lead from the penalty spot during the first half following a careless foul from Angelo Ogbonna.

The second half, though, was played at breakneck speed as the lead changed hands three times thanks to quickfire goals between Alessio Cerci, Alen Stevanovic, Conti, Mauricio Pinilla and Rolando Bianchi. Torino eventually lost both Ogbonna and substitute Abou Diop to red cards and Conti duly exploited the space to drive in a scintillating winner from long distance, just seconds before the final whistle.

Sampdoria moved clear of opponents Chievo to effectively banish any relegation fears thanks to a 2-0 win at a snowy Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa.

Andrea Poli gave the home side the lead in the 33rd minute before the sleet turned to snow, and Eder struck the second with seven minutes remaining.

Catania survived a late onslaught and the dismissal of Nicola Legrottaglie to continue their march towards Europe with a 2-1 victory at Parma.

The Sicilians knew that three points from the Stadio Ennio Tardini would give them a share of sixth place with Fiorentina, whose game at Bologna was postponed, and first-half goals from Francesco Lodi and Keko were enough to see them through.

Parma’s Amauri forced a consolation goal with time running out.

Roma defied both the weather and spirited Atalanta resistance to claim back-to-back Serie A victories for the first time in 2013, winning 3-2 away from the capital.

The match, at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia, was hours away from being called off due to heavy snow

On-loan Inter striker Marko Livaja opened the scoring but Marquinho pegged Atalanta back before Miralem Pjanic turned the game on its head with an exquisite free-kick, only for Livaja to net again for the home side heading into half-time.

Vasilis Torosidis waited for the snow to clear to head the winner and Atalanta promptly unravelled as Matteo Contini saw red following an unseemly scrap with Simone Perrotta.

Serie A

Atalanta 2
Livaja 8, 44;
Roma 3
Marquinho 12; Pjanic 34; Torosidis 71;

HT: 2-2. Att: 12,593.
Red card: Contini (A) 89.

Cagliari 4
Sau 37 pen; Conti 75, 90+; Pinilla 87 pen;
Torino 3
Cerci 47; Stevanovic 54; Bianchi 90 pen;

HT: 1-0.
Red cards: Ogbonna (T) 85; Diop (T) 88.

Inter 1
Schelotto 71;
Milan 1
El Shaarawy 21;

HT: 0-1. Att: 79,341.

Juventus 3
Lichtsteiner 30; Giovinco 73; Pogba 89;
Siena 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 38,628.

Parma 1
Amauri 87;
Catania 2
Lodi 5; Keko 44;

HT: 0-2. Att: 10,984.
Red card: Legrottaglie (C) 87.

Sampdoria 2
Poli 33; Eder 83;
Chievo 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 20,002.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Juventus	26	18	4	4	53	17	58
Napoli	25	15	6	4	46	21	51
Milan	26	13	6	7	45	32	45
Lazio	25	13	5	7	35	29	44
Inter	26	13	5	8	41	34	44
Fiorentina	25	12	6	7	45	30	42
Catania	26	12	6	8	34	31	42
Roma	26	12	4	10	54	47	40
Udinese	25	9	9	7	35	34	36
Sampdoria (-1)	26	9	6	11	33	30	32
Parma	26	8	8	10	32	35	32
Torino (-1)	26	7	11	8	32	32	31
Cagliari	26	8	7	11	32	44	31
Chievo	26	8	5	13	26	42	29
Atalanta (-2)	26	8	5	13	24	38	27
Bologna	25	7	5	13	33	35	26
Genoa	26	6	8	12	26	37	26
Siena (-6)	26	7	6	13	27	37	21
Pescara	25	6	3	16	20	51	21
Palermo	26	3	11	12	22	39	20

Playing today
Udinese vs Napoli - 19.00
Lazio vs Pescara - 21.00

Tomorrow
Bologna vs Fiorentina - 20.00

Top scorers
18 goals: Cavani (Napoli).
16 goals: El Shaarawy (Milan).
14 goals: Di Natale (Udinese).

Next fixtures
Friday: 20.45 Napoli vs Juventus.
Saturday: 20.45 Milan vs Lazio.
Sunday: 12.30 Torino vs Palermo. 15.00 Bologna vs Cagliari; Catania vs Inter; Fiorentina vs Chievo; Pescara vs Udinese; Sampdoria vs Parma; Siena vs Atalanta. 20.45 Roma vs Genoa.

Prima Divisione ‘A’
Como vs FeralpiSalo 0-2; Cuneo vs SudTirol pp; San Marino vs AlbinoLeffe pp; Trapani vs Lumezzane 2-0; Treviso vs Cremonese 1-1; Tritium vs Portogruaro pp; Entella vs Lecce 2-2.

Leading standings: Lecce 44; Trapani 42; SudTirol 37; San Marino, Entella 35; Lumezzane 33.

Prima Divisione ‘B’
Avellino vs Frosinone 1-0; Benevento vs Gubbio 2-1; Carrarese vs Pisa 2-3; Catanzaro vs Viareggio 2-0; Latina vs Barletta 2-0; Paganese vs Prato 0-0; Perugia vs Nocerina 2-1; Sorrento vs Andria 0-0.

Leading standings: Latina 43; Avellino 41; Perugia, Nocerina 36; Pisa 33; Benevento 32; Frosinone 31.