Juventus edged closer to a second successive Serie A title after winning 2-1 in a pulsating "derby of Italy" at old rivals Inter, while Milan moved up to second after beating Chievo Verona 1-0.

A superb long-range Fabio Quagliarella strike after three minutes and a tap in from Alessandro Matri on the hour were just enough for Juve to beat a determined Inter, who briefly levelled the scores on 54 minutes through Rodrigo Palacio.

"It was a game played at a great pace right from the start and it's an important win for us. Now we can think about Bayern," Matri told Sky Italia as he looked ahead to Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg at Bayern Munich.

"We can't relax until we're mathematically certain of winning (the scudetto), but today we sent a signal out that we're still concentrated on the league."

The win puts the champions on 68 points with eight games left, 11 points clear of Milan, who beat Chievo thanks to Riccardo Montolivo's 25th-minute tap in after a Mario Balotelli free-kick rebounded to him.

Chievo finished a scrappy game played on a heavy pitch with ten men after defender Dario Dainelli was sent off for two bookings, the second in the 78th minute for a clumsy challenge on Balotelli as he raced towards goal.

Inter, who also had Esteban Cambiasso sent off in injury time for a rash tackle on Sebastian Giovinco, remain on 47 points and drop down to sixth after a 2-1 win against fellow European hopefuls Catania saw Lazio move above them into fifth place.

Mariano Izco's goal after 50 minutes put Catania ahead but Vladimir Petkovic's side hit back through a calamitous Nicola Legrottaglie own goal with 11 minutes left and an Antonio Candreva penalty two minutes later.

Quagliarella gave champions Juve an early lead against Inter with a stunning long-range strike that dipped and swerved over a stationary Samir Handovic in the Inter goal.

Palacio gave Inter fans hope they might let Napoli back into the title race when in the 54th minute he raced onto Antonio Cassano's smart pass and rolled home an easy finish.

But Matri regained the lead only six minutes later when he met a Quagliarella cut back from the byline to tap in from close range and move Juve a step closer to what looks like an inevitable title.

PALERMO HOPE

A Mauricio Pinilla brace helped Cagliari comfortably beat Champions League-chasing Fiorentina 2-0 at an empty Is Arenas, once again closed to the public for safety reasons.

Fans protesting outside the ground celebrated a smart 11th-minute finish and a penalty six minutes from halftime which have all but confirmed Serie A soccer next term for the troubled Sardinian club.

Second-from-bottom Palermo were the big winners after Josip Ilicic and Fabrizio Miccoli did the damage in their 2-0 home win against Roma.

Slovenian Ilicic finished with aplomb after a superb long pass from his strike partner after 21 minutes before supplying the assist for Miccoli's winner 14 minutes later.

The struggling Sicilians are now three points behind 17th placed Genoa, who could only draw 2-2 in a thrilling relegation clash at home to third-from-bottom Siena, who are on 26 points.

Bosko Jankovic saved a potentially huge point for Genoa with 20 minutes to go after a scuffed Innocent Emeghara strike and a penalty from Alessandro Rosina cancelled out Marco Borriello's sixth-minute deflected free kick.

Mid-table Parma moved up to 11th and dropped bottom side Pescara deeper into the relegation mire after thumping them 3-0 at home, while Atalanta and Sampdoria and Udinese and Bologna played out uneventful goalless draws.

Napoli travel to Torino in today's late game, hoping to reclaim second spot from Milan.

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