Champions Juventus retained their three-point lead over Roma at the top of the Serie A standings after beating Lazio 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico, last night.
Paul Pogba scored twice, one in each half, and Carlos Tevez added another ten minutes after the break as Juventus distanced themselves from nearest pursuers Roma who had beaten Atalanta 2-1 in Bergamo in the early evening kick-off.
Lazio looked the brighter side at the start of the match but their enthusiasm waned when Juve stormed ahead on 24 minutes.
Tevez put Pogba through for the Frenchman to blast home from the edge of the box.
Gigi Buffon needed two attempts to keep out a powerful Antonio Candreva free-kick while Seida Keita volleyed over the Juve bar from close range.
Ten minutes after the restart Claudio Marchisio’s perfect ball was reached by Tevez who beat keeper Federico Marchetti before Pogba made it 3-0 after coming face to face with the Lazio no.1.
Twenty minutes from time Juve had midfielder Simone Padoin dismissed for a second bookable offence after a foul on Candreva but the visitors were already home and dry by that point.
In Bergamo, Maximiliano Moralez gave the hosts the lead 57 seconds into the match and Atalanta were unlucky not to make it 2-0 soon after when Daniele Baselli’s shot struck the crossbar.
Roma’s Adem Ljajic equalised before he set up Radja Nainggolan for the Giallorossi’s second before the interval.
Atalanta wasted several chances to pull level after the restart and ended the game down to 10 men after substitute Richmond Boakye was sent off for a double booking in stoppage time.
Atalanta are 17th in the standings but could fall into the relegation zone if Chievo win at Udinese today.
Atalanta went into the contest looking for their first win since October 19 and could not have asked for a better start.
Cristian Raimondi raced down the left side past Roma defender Ashley Cole and crossed for Moralez, who struck the ball from the heart of the area past visiting goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis.
Roma were fortunate not to trail 2-0 in the 10th minute after Baselli’s right-footed volley beat De Sanctis but rebounded off the woodwork.
The visitors equalised midway through the first half when Ljajic darted into the area and drilled a diagonal shot out of Atalanta keeper Marco Sportiello’s reach.
The visitors kept up the pressure and were rewarded three minutes before half-time.
Nainggolan played a neat one-two with Ljajic before hitting the ball from 12 yards past a helpless Sportiello.
The home side wasted a good chance to make it 2-2 shortly after the hour mark when Guglielmo Stendardo headed Alejandro Gomez’s free-kick wide from six yards.
Atalanta then failed to punish Roma. Daniele de Rossi lost the ball in his own area under pressure from Moralez and the Argentinian struck the ball off target with only De Sanctis to beat.
Serie A
Atalanta 1
Moralez 1;
Roma 2
Ljajic 23; Nainggolan 42;
HT: 1-2. Att: 17,288.
Red card: Boakye (A) 90.
Lazio 0
Juventus 3
Pogba 25, 64; Tevez 55;
HT: 0-1. Att: 45,000.
Red card: Padoin (J) 70.
Playing today – 15.00
Cesena vs Sampdoria
Verona vs Fiorentina
Parma vs Empoli
Milan vs Inter - 20.45
Napoli vs Cagliari
Torino vs Sassuolo - 12.30
Udinese vs Chievo
Tomorrow
Genoa vs Palermo - 20.45
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 4 | 31 |
| Roma | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 7 | 28 |
| Napoli | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 12 | 21 |
| Sampdoria | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 20 |
| Lazio | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 16 | 19 |
| Genoa | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 19 |
| Milan | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 16 | 17 |
| Udinese | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 17 |
| Inter | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 16 |
| Verona | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 18 | 14 |
| Fiorentina | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 13 |
| Palermo | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 18 | 13 |
| Sassuolo | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 12 |
| Torino | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 12 |
| Cagliari | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 10 |
| Empoli | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 10 |
| Atalanta | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
| Chievo | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 8 |
| Cesena | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 7 |
| Parma | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 28 | 6 |
Next Serie A fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Sassuolo vs Verona. 20.45 Chievo vs Lazio.
Sunday: 15.00 Cagliari vs Fiorentina; Cesena vs Genoa; Empoli vs Atalanta; Milan vs Udinese; Palermo vs Parma. 18.00 Juventus vs Torino. 20.45 Roma vs Inter.
Monday, Dec. 1: 20.45 Sampdoria vs Napoli.
Serie B
Avellino vs Varese - 0-0
Bari vs Trapani - 2-1
Brescia vs Carpi - 3-3
Modena vs Pescara - 2-0
Perugia vs Ternana - 2-2
Pro Vercelli vs Entella - 2-0
Spezia vs Bologna - 1-1
Vicenza vs Cittadella - 1-1
Lanciano vs Crotone - 1-1
Playing today
Catania vs Latina - 18.00
Standings: Carpi 29; Frosinone 28; Spezia 25; Livorno, Avellino 24; Lanciano, Bologna 23; Perugia, Trapani 22; Pro Vercelli 20; Bari 19; Modena, Brescia 18; Varese, Vicenza 17; Pescara, Catania, Ternana 16; Entella 15; Crotone 14; Cittadella, Latina 13.
Lega Pro
Group A: Lumezzane vs Venezia 3-2; Pordenone vs Renate 1-3; Pavia vs Cremonese 4-1; Pro Patria vs Alessandria 1-3; Novara vs AlbinoLeffe 4-1.
Group B: Tuttocuoio vs Teramo 0-0; Grosseto vs Santarcangelo 1-0; San Marino vs Lucchese 0-1; US Ancona vs Gubbio 2-4; Reggiana vs Prato 4-0.
Group C: Ischia vs Reggina 2-0; Salernitana vs Paganese 1-0; Savoia vs Co-senza 1-1; Aversa vs Juve Stabia 1-2.