Juventus pulled nine points clear at the top of the Serie A table by punishing traditional rivals Inter 3-1 in the second Derby d’Italia of the season.

With second-placed Roma left in limbo following the abandonment of their rain-soaked meeting with Parma earlier yesterday, Juve knew victory over their old foes Inter would give them a significant advantage in the title race.

It did not take Stephan Lichtsteiner long to strike the first blow, courtesy of an exquisite assist from Andrea Pirlo, and Giorgio Chiellini made it a real uphill battle for struggling Inter with a goal right after half-time.

When Arturo Vidal added a third, Juve could start celebrating their fifth derby victory from seven recent encounters, with a late consolation goal from Inter defender Rolando doing little to rattle the reigning champions’ nerves.

The embarrassment of a derby defeat is the least of Inter’s worries. The 2010 treble winners have won just once in their last 10 league games and lie sixth in the table, below even Verona.

Earlier, Atalanta forward German Denis took advantage of shocking defending by Napoli to score twice in a 3-0 win over Rafael Benitez’s exasperatingly inconsistent team.

Maxi Moralez completed the scoring after another slip-up by third-placed Napoli, who continued their habit of dropping points against mid-table opposition.

Lazio won 2-0 at Chievo in their first match without Brazilian midfielder Hernanes, who joined Inter in the transfer window, and bottom club Catania came from behind three times to hold Livorno 3-3 after a six-goal second half.

Swiss midfielder Innocent Emeghara scored twice and Paulinho converted a penalty for Livorno while Argentine trio Gonzalo Bergessio, Pablo Barrientos and Sergio Almiron replied for the Sicilians in a match featuring two teams in the bottom three.

Sassuolo, also in the drop zone, gave new coach Alberto Malesani a losing start going down 2-1 at home to Verona.

Benitez surprisingly started with forwards Gonzalo Higuain and Marek Hamsik on the bench but it backfired in a dismal first half in Bergamo, where home fans entertained themselves by repeatedly letting off smoke bombs behind the goal.

Atalanta went ahead two minutes after halftime when Blerim Dzemail gave the ball away and Denis scored with a low, powerful shot which was badly misjudged by Pepe Reina.

Higuain came on for Napoli and quickly forced Andrea Consigli to make his first save of the game just after the hour, only to see Atalanta score again almost immediately.

This time, Napoli midfielder Gokhan Inler made a complete hash of a clearance which went straight to Denis who fired past Reina.

Moralez added the third in the 70th minute after Federico Fernandez slipped, allowing him to slot the ball past Reina.

Serie A

Played yesterday

Atalanta 3
Denis 48, 64; Moralez 70;
Napoli 0

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

Catania 3
Bergessio 61; Barrientos 75; Almiron 88;
Livorno 3
Emeghera 51, 78; Paulinho 72 pen.;

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

Chievo 0
Lazio 2
Candreva 6; Keita 70;

HT: 0-1. Att: 12,000.

Juventus 3
Lichsteiner 15; Chiellini 47; Vidal 56;
Inter 1
Rolando 71;

HT: 1-0. Att: 39,995.

Roma 0
Parma 0

(abandoned on 11 mins, waterlogged pitch)

Sassuolo 1
Floro Flores 90;
Verona 2
Manfredini 50 og; Toni 86;

HT: 0-0. Att: 11,795.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Juventus	22	19	2	1	54	16	59
Roma	21	15	5	1	45	11	50
Napoli	22	13	5	4	44	26	44
Fiorentina	22	12	5	5	40	24	41
Verona	22	11	2	9	37	35	35
Inter	22	8	9	5	39	27	33
Torino	22	8	9	5	35	28	33
Parma	21	8	8	5	32	27	32
Lazio	22	8	7	7	29	29	31
Milan	22	7	8	7	35	32	29
Genoa	21	7	6	8	23	27	27
Atalanta	22	8	3	11	24	30	27
Cagliari	22	5	9	8	21	31	24
Udinese	22	7	2	13	22	32	23
Sampdoria	21	5	7	9	25	32	22
Chievo	22	4	6	12	16	29	18
Bologna	22	3	9	10	20	38	18
Livorno	22	4	5	13	22	40	17
Sassuolo	22	4	5	13	23	48	17
Catania	22	3	6	13	16	40	15

Playing today
Genoa vs Sampdoria - 20.45

Top scorers
14 goals: Rossi (Fiorentina).
12 goals: Berardi (Sassuolo).
11 goals: Tevez (Juventus), Immobile (Torino), Vidal (Juventus).
10 goals: Palacio (Inter), Higuain (Napoli), Cerci (Torino), Toni (Verona).

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

Prima Divisione ‘A’
P. Vercelli vs AlbinoLeffe - 1-1
Como vs Savona - 4-2
Carrarese vs FeralpiSalo - 2-0
Venezia vs Pavia - 2-2
Pro Patria vs San Marino - 2-1
Cremonese vs Reggiana - 2-0
Lumezzane vs SudTirol - 0-0
V. Entella vs Vicenza - 1-1

Leading standings: V. Entella 41; Pro Vercelli 37; Cremonese 33.

Prima Divisione ‘B’
Benevento vs Pontedera - 3-0
Grosseto vs Gubbio - 1-2
Lecce vs Perugia - 3-4
Pisa vs Catanzaro - 0-0
Prato vs Paganese - 0-1
Salernitana vs Barletta - 3-0
Viareggio vs L’Aquila -1-3

Leading standings: Perugia 44; Frosinone 42; L’Aquila 35; Lecce 34.