A bizarre own goal briefly gave Serie A leaders Juventus the jitters, triggering memories of last week’s dramatic collapse at Verona, before they recovered to beat lowly Chievo 3-1 yesterday.
Second-placed Roma were too strong for Sampdoria in the late kick-off as the Giallorossi won 3-0 despite playing without any of their hardcore fans in the stadium curves.
Napoli, who have been exasperatingly inconsistent all season, avoided any slip-ups winning 2-0 away to Sassuolo.
There was plenty of drama lower down the table as struggling nine-man Livorno won 2-1 at Cagliari, Genoa hit back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Udinese and Parma thumped Atalanta 4-0 away.
Catania moved off the bottom with a shock 3-1 win at home to Lazio, with Stefano Mauri scoring his first goal for the visitors since completing a six-month ban for failing to report match-fixing in 2011.
Juventus, who have proved irresistible at home, raced to a 2-0 lead inside half an hour after Ghana midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah rifled in a curling shot from long range and Claudio Marchisio snapped up a rebound from Andrea Pirlo’s free-kick.
But, having infuriated coach Antonio Conte by squandering a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw at Verona last week, Juventus then gifted Chievo a goal just after the break.
Stefan Lichtsteiner fired an attempted clearance straight at Martin Caceres and the ball ricocheted off the stunned Uruguayan and into the net.
This time, however, Fernando Llorente calmed Juve’s nerves when he headed in a Pirlo cross just before the hour to restore their two-goal advantage.
The Spaniard’s 10th league goal of the season ensured that Juventus, who have scored at least three goals in each of their last five home games, maintained their 100 per cent home league record this season.
Mattia Destro scored twice for Roma and Miralem Pjanic added another from a free-kick in a comprehensive win over Sampdoria.
The pressure was all on Rudi Garcia’s men after a goalless stalemate in the derby and elimination from the Coppa Italia semi-finals in midweek following a 3-0 upset to Napoli.
However, the Giallorossi produced a spirited response despite playing without captain Francesco Totti and the inspirational Daniele de Rossi at the back.
Juventus lead with 63 points from 24 games while Roma have 54 (and a game in hand) and Rafael Benitez’s Napoli 50.
Swiss midfielder Blerim Dzemaili gave Napoli a half-time lead at Sassuolo and Lorenzo Insigne made the game safe with a superb finish as he burst into the penalty area and curled his shot past Gianluca Pegolo.
Brazilian pair Emerson, with a 30-metre strike, and Paulinho, from a penalty, put Livorno 2-0 ahead in Sardinia before compatriot Nene pulled one back for Cagliari.
Livorno held on for the points despite having Federico Ceccherini sent off for a second yellow card and Marco Benassi for a tackle from behind in the last five minutes. Daniele Conti was also dismissed for the hosts in the 71st minute.
Alberto Gilardino scored twice in the final 21 minutes as Genoa salvaged a 3-3 draw at home to Udinese.
Serie A
Atalanta 0
Parma 4
Molinaro 9; Benalouane 75og; Cassano 77; Schelotto 90;
HT: 0-1. Att: 14,000.
Catania 3
Isco 1; Spolli 48; Peruzzi 58;
Lazio 1
Mauri 45;
HT: 1-1. Att: 14,000.
Cagliari 1
Nene 64;
Livorno 2
Emerson 44; Paulinho 54 pen;
HT: 0-1. Att: 4,500.
Red cards: Conti (C) 71; Ceccherini (L) 85; Benassi (L) 90.
Genoa 3
Konate 45; Gilardino 69, 79;
Udinese 3
Basta 35; Fernandes 40; Muriel 48 pen;
HT: 1-2. Att: 20,000.
Juventus 3
Asamoah 17; Marchisio 29; Llorente 58;
Chievo 1
Caceres 51og;
HT: 2-0. Att: 38,000.
Roma 3
Destro 44, 56; Pjanic 54;
Sampdoria 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 15,000.
Red card: Gastaldello (S) 80.
Sassuolo 0
Napoli 2
Dzemaili 37; Insigne 56;
HT: 0-1. Att: 12,000.
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 24 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 59 | 19 | 63 |
| Roma | 23 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 48 | 11 | 54 |
| Napoli | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 49 | 27 | 50 |
| Fiorentina | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 43 | 26 | 44 |
| Inter | 24 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 42 | 28 | 39 |
| Parma | 23 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 36 | 27 | 36 |
| Verona | 23 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 39 | 37 | 36 |
| Torino | 23 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 36 | 30 | 33 |
| Milan | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 37 | 35 | 32 |
| Lazio | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 30 | 32 | 32 |
| Genoa | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 31 | 31 |
| Sampdoria | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 | 35 | 28 |
| Udinese | 24 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 28 | 35 | 27 |
| Atalanta | 24 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 24 | 36 | 27 |
| Cagliari | 24 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 22 | 34 | 24 |
| Bologna | 24 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 40 | 21 |
| Livorno | 24 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 24 | 42 | 20 |
| Catania | 24 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 41 | 19 |
| Chievo | 24 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 35 | 18 |
| Sassuolo | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 23 | 51 | 17 |
Playing today
Verona vs Torino - 20.45
Next fixtures
Saturday: 20.45 Bologna vs Roma.
Sunday: 12.30 Livorno vs Verona. 15.00 Chievo vs Catania; Inter vs Cagliari; Sampdoria vs Milan; Udinese vs Atalanta. 18.30 Juventus vs Torino. 20.45 Lazio vs Sassuolo.
Monday: 19.00 Parma vs Fiorentina. 21.00 Napoli vs Genoa.
Top scorers
14 goals: Rossi (Fiorentina).
13 goals: Tevez (Juventus).
12 goals: Higuain (Napoli), Berardi (Sassuolo), Immobile (Torino).
Serie B
Modena vs Bari - 4-0
Prima Divisione ‘A’
Vicenza vs FeralpiSalo - 4-1
Prima Divisione ‘B’
Salernitana vs Ascoli 2-1; Benevento vs Gubbio 3-0; Pisa vs Perugia 2-1; Grosseto vs L’Aquila 1-0; Lecce vs Paganese 2-0; Prato vs Pontedera 4-2; Frosinone vs Viareggio 2-1.