Two goals in seven first-half minutes from Carlos Tevez kept Juventus on course for a third successive Serie A title with a 2-1 win over Parma which ended the away side’s 17-match unbeaten run and set a record of 15 straight home wins in a season.

Argentine Tevez struck in the 25th and 32nd minutes to go back to the top of the Serie A scoring charts with 18 goals and extended Juve’s lead to 14 points after Roma had cut the gap to 11 with a last gasp 2-1 win over Torino on Tuesday.

Cristian Molinaro pulled a goal back for Parma just after the hour mark but the spirited visitors lost Amauri to a soft-looking red card almost immediately afterwards.

Antonio Conte’s side moved up to 81 points and stayed 20 ahead of third-placed Napoli, who beat bottom side Catania 4-2 in a thrilling game in Sicily.

Rafael Benitez’s team raced into a 4-0 half-time lead thanks to a double from Duvan Zapata, a tap-in from Jose Callejon following a comical defensive mix-up and a stunning volley from Henrique.

Napoli are now 10 points ahead of fourth-placed Fiorentina, having lost to Vincenzo Montella’s side in Naples at the weekend, thanks to Milan, who relieved the pressure on their under-fire manager Clarence Seedorf with a 2-0 win in Florence.

Milan remained in 12th place on 39 points after a 23rd-minute header from Philippe Mexes and a Mario Balotelli free-kick just after the hour mark secured their first league win in five games, offering Seedorf a stay of execution after reportedly being given two matches to save his job.

Parma regularly flirted with the idea of competing with the champions-elect – Antonio Cassano and Molinaro went close in the early stages – but Juve and Tevez would own the night.

The Argentinian matched Ciro Immobile as the league’s top scorer in the 25th minute when he brushed off the attentions of Gabriel Paletta to slot the ball past Antonio Mirante.

Only seven minutes later, he reclaimed the provisional top-scorer title.

His 18th goal came after he drove at the Parma box before feeding Arturo Vidal down the right.

The Chilean midfielder took a first-time shot and Tevez was there to sweep home the rebound.

The visitors were shell-shocked and could barely respond before the break – Cassano’s left-wing cross to Molinaro came to nothing.

Parma took full advantage of the interval to regroup and refocus.

The warning signs were there for Juve as Paletta narrowly missed the mark with a header from a corner and, on 62 minutes, Molinaro halved the deficit with a powerful left-footed drive.

If one former Juve player had wounded his old team, another would soon provide his former employers with a timely fillip.

Parma were already up against it and lost a key player when Amauri saw red after elbowing Juve defender Giorgio Chiellini in the 65th minute.

Juventus switched things up by throwing Fabio Quagliarella into the fray for Fernando Llorente and the veteran striker made an instant impact by forcing a low save from Mirante.

All seemed lost for Parma as time ticked away but Roberto Dona-doni’s men were determined not to relinquish their unbeaten status without a fight.

Molinari gave keeper Gianluigi Buffon a late scare from close range and Leonardo Bonucci was lucky to not concede a penalty at the death when grappling with Marco Parolo in the box.

Results

Atalanta 2
De Luca 22; Denis 59;
Livorno 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 14,000.

Cagliari 1
Nene 32;
Verona 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 4,000.

Catania 2
Monzon 52; Gyoember 75;
Napoli 4
Zapata 17, 43; Callejon 25; Henrique 40;

HT: 0-4. Att: 14,000.

Chievo 3
Paloschi 7 pen; Paloschi 79; Rigoni 89;
Bologna 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 4,000.

Fiorentina 0
Milan 2
Mexes 23; Balotelli 64;

HT: 0-1. Att: 31,000.

Genoa 2
Gilardino 65; Fetfatzidis 84;
Lazio 0

HT: 0-0. Att: 20,000.
Red card: Ledesma (L) 90.

Juventus 2
Tevez 25, 32;
Parma 1
Molinaro 62;

HT: 2-0. Att: 38,000.
Red card: Amauri (P) 65.

Sassuolo 1
Longhi 16; Okaka 67;
Sampdoria 2
Sansone 1;

HT: 1-1. Att: 12,000.
Red card: Regini (SMP) 88.

  P W D L F A Pts
Juventus 30 26 3 1 67 20 81
Roma 29 20 7 2 56 15 67
Napoli 30 18 7 5 57 32 61
Fiorentina 30 15 6 9 49 33 51
Inter 29 12 11 6 47 31 47
Parma 29 12 11 6 47 34 47
Atalanta 30 13 4 13 35 39 43
Lazio 30 11 9 10 37 38 42
Sampdoria 30 11 7 12 40 43 40
Verona 30 12 4 14 43 52 40
Torino 30 10 9 11 43 39 39
Milan 30 10 9 11 44 43 39
Genoa 30 10 9 11 34 36 39
Udinese 29 10 4 15 33 42 34
Cagliari 30 7 11 12 28 39 32
Chievo 30 7 6 17 26 43 27
Bologna 30 5 11 14 24 46 26
Livorno 30 6 6 18 32 56 24
Sassuolo 30 5 6 19 29 59 21
Catania 30 4 8 18 23 54 20

Playing today
Inter vs Udinese - 20.45

Top scorers
18 goals: Tevez (Juventus).
17 goals: Immobile (Torino).
14 goals: Rossi (Fiorentina), Higuain (Napoli).
13 goals: Gilardino (Genoa), Toni (Verona), Palacio (Inter).

Next fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Bologna vs Atalanta. 20.45 Milan vs Chievo.
Sunday: 12.30 Sassuolo vs Roma. 15.00 Verona vs Genoa; Lazio vs Parma; Sampdoria vs Fiorentina; Torino vs Cagliari. 20.45 Napoli vs Juventus.
Monday: 19.00 Udinese vs Catania. 21.00 Livorno vs Inter.

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