Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez scored to give Juventus a 2-0 win at Milan which extended their lead at the top of Serie A to 11 points yesterday.
Llorente scored from close range one minute before half-time after a quick exchange of passes and Tevez rifled in a 25-metre shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 68th minute.
Third-placed Napoli dropped two more points in a 1-1 draw at relegation-threatened Livorno while Fiorentina, who are fourth, lost 1-0 at home to Lazio.
Juventus lead with 69 points from 26 games while Roma, who have played a game less, have 58 after their goalless draw at home to Inter on Saturday.
Napoli are a further six points behind.
Milan, without the injured Mario Balotelli and Sulley Muntari, suspended, had their chances against Juventus but somehow they failed to find a way past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
Giampaolo Pazzini failed to flick home from a good position and then a Kaka shot was parried by Buffon. The Brazilian playmaker beat the keeper with a second try but Leonardo Bonucci cleared from the goalline.
Buffon showed he’s still the no.1 keeper in the Serie A with a fine save to keep away a Kaka inswinger before Llorente silenced the home crowd when hitting home from close in just before half-time.
Andrea Poli headed wide from a Kaka centre as the second half got underway as the hosts struggled in the final third.
Then, Juve doubled their lead with a superb Tevez goal for his 15th of the season to go top of the scorers list.
Paul Pogba’s scorcher hit the Milan upright as the Rossoneri were denied a consolation goal when substitute Robinho saw his effort stopped by the woodwork in stoppage time.
Jose Reina’s bizarre own goal cost Napoli an important win at Livorno.
Napoli were seeking a victory that would have seen them close to within four points of second-placed Roma but Reina was at fault as he fumbled the ball into his own net from Ibrahima Mbaye’s tame effort.
The goalkeeper’s horror moment arrived just seven minutes after Dries Mertens had fired the visitors into the lead from the penalty spot, as Rafael Benitez’s men were held to a frustrating draw.
In the afternoon matches, Sassuolo substitute Domenico Berardi contrived to get himself sent off after only 48 seconds on the pitch as the Serie A strugglers lost 1-0 to Parma, their fifth straight defeat under new coach Alberto Malesani.
The tempestuous 19-year-old, Sassuolo’s leading scorer with 12 goals, came on in the 71st minute, having been dropped, and was dismissed almost immediately for lashing out at Cristian Molinaro.
Sassuolo, bottom of the table with 17 points, have lost every game since their 4-3 win over Milan in mid-January and never recovered after Marco Parolo scored for sixth-placed Parma in the second minute.
Eusebio Di Francesco, who led Sassuolo out of Serie B last season, was fired at the end of January and replaced by Malesani who has lost his first five games in charge.
De Rossi dropped
Midfielder Daniele De Rossi was left out of Italy’s squad yesterday for the friendly against Spain, one day after television cameras caught him punching an opponent in an off-the-ball incident during a Serie A match.
The Roma midfielder was seen to land a punch on Inter forward Mauro Icardi’s jaw during their goalless draw on Saturday although the incident was missed by match officials.
It was the latest in a long line of misdemeanours by De Rossi, who was also sent off for a wild two-footed challenge during Roma’s game against Juve in January.
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has frequently dropped players, including De Rossi twice before, for bad behaviour in club matches under his strict code of ethics.
Pablo Osvaldo and Mario Balotelli have also fallen foul of Prandelli’s rules in the past.
Balotelli was omitted this time because of a shoulder injury while uncapped Parma defender Gabriel Paletta and Torino forward Ciro Immobile were given their first call-ups.
The squad
Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), Perin (Genoa), Sirigu (PSG).
Defenders: Abate (Milan), Astori (Cagliari), Barzagli (Juventus), Bonucci (Juventus), Chiellini (Juventus), Criscito (Zenit), De Sciglio (Milan), Maggio (Napoli), Paletta (Parma).
Midfielders: Candreva (Lazio), Giaccherini (Sunderland), Marchisio (Juventus), Montolivo (Milan), Motta (PSG), Parolo (Parma), Pirlo (Juventus), Verratti (PSG).
Forwards: Cerci (Torino), Destro (Roma), Gilardino (Genoa), Im-mobile (Torino), Insigne (Napoli), Osvaldo (Juventus).
Serie A
Atalanta 2
Carmona 21; Cigarini 85;
Chievo 1
Dainelli 72;
HT: 1-0. Att: 14,000.
Red card: Cesar (C) 70.
Cagliari 3
Ibarbo 18; Vecino 81; Ibraimi 89;
Udinese 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 4,000.
Genoa 2
Antonelli 17; Sturaro 85;
Catania 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 20,000.
Red card: Bellusci (C) 39.
Fiorentina 0
Lazio 1
Cana 5;
HT: 0-1. Att: 28,488.
Livorno 1
Reina 39og;
Napoli 1
Mertens 32 pen;
HT: 1-1. Att: 11,803.
Milan 0
Juventus 2
Llorente 44; Tevez 68;
HT: 0-1. Att: 75,589.
Sassuolo 0
Parma 1
Parolo 2;
HT: 0-1. Att: 13,000.
Red card: Berardi (S) 72.
Torino 0
Sampdoria 2
Okaka 7; Gabbiadini 79;
HT: 0-1. Att: 17,000.
Verona 0
Bologna 0
Att: 20,000.
Red card: Cristaldo (B) 82.
Missed penalty: Bianchi (B) 48.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 26 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 62 | 19 | 69 |
| Roma | 25 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 49 | 11 | 58 |
| Napoli | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 51 | 29 | 52 |
| Fiorentina | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 45 | 29 | 45 |
| Inter | 26 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 43 | 29 | 41 |
| Parma | 25 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 39 | 29 | 40 |
| Verona | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 43 | 42 | 40 |
| Lazio | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 34 | 34 | 38 |
| Torino | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 39 | 34 | 36 |
| Milan | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 39 | 37 | 35 |
| Genoa | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 32 | 35 |
| Sampdoria | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 29 | 37 | 31 |
| Atalanta | 26 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 27 | 38 | 31 |
| Cagliari | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 26 | 35 | 28 |
| Udinese | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 29 | 39 | 28 |
| Bologna | 26 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 41 | 22 |
| Chievo | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 20 | 37 | 21 |
| Livorno | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 27 | 46 | 21 |
| Catania | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 19 | 45 | 19 |
| Sassuolo | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 25 | 55 | 17 |
Next fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Udinese vs Milan; 20.45 Catania vs Cagliari.
Sunday: 12.30 Juventus vs Fiorentina. 15.00 Bologna vs Sassuolo; Chievo vs Genoa; Inter vs Torino; Lazio vs Atalanta; Parma vs Verona; Sampdoria vs Livorno. 20.45 Napoli vs Roma.
Top scorers
15 goals: Tevez (Juventus).
14 goals: Rossi (Fiorentina).
13 goals: Toni (Verona), Higuain (Napoli), Immobile (Torino).
Prima Divisione ‘A’
Vicenza vs AlbinoLeffe 3-2; Como vs FeralpiSalo 1-0; Carrarese vs Lumezzane 0-0; Venezia vs Pro Patria 3-0; San Marino vs Pro Vercelli 0-0; Cremonese vs SudTirol 1-1; Pavia vs Entella 0-2.
Prima Divisione ‘B’
Lecce vs Ascoli 2-1; Salernitana vs Benevento 2-1; Frosinone vs Grosseto 3-0; Pisa vs Gubbio 1-0; Barletta vs Paganese 3-2; Catanzaro vs Perugia 1-0; Prato vs Viareggio 1-0.