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Serie A round-up: Juve close in on title while Roma and Lazio both win

Carlos Tevez celebrates his goal for Juventus against Empoli
Image: Carlos Tevez celebrates his goal for Juventus against Empoli

A fourth straight Serie A title is Juventus' for the taking after they beat Empoli 2-0 on Saturday night to establish a 14-point advantage at the top of the table with nine games of the season remaining.

Carlos Tevez opened the scoring shortly before the interval and Roberto Pereyra added a second in stoppage time as the Bianconeri responded to wins from Roma and Lazio to restore a seemingly unassailable lead at the top of the standings.

They also had goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to thank for making several fine interventions in the second half when Juve dropped their intensity, saving their batteries for a trip to Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia in midweek and the Champions League quarter-final clash with Monaco a week after.

Inter Milan left the San Siro to a deafening chorus of boos from the home fans after they were held to a 1-1 draw by rock-bottom Parma in Serie A.

Inter Milan's midfielder from Colombia Fredy Guarin reacts during the Italian Serie A football match Inter Milan vs Parma at San Siro
Image: Inter Milan's Fredy Guarin shows his frustration during the draw with Parma.

Fredy Guarin gave Inter the lead in the 25th minute, but Andi Lila levelled just before half-time.

The Nerazzurri failed to find a winner in the second half, seeing their diminishing hopes of playing in Europe next season suffer another setback as Parma picked up only their 10th point of the season.

Second-placed Roma maintained their one-point lead over city rivals Lazio thanks to a 1-0 win over Napoli.

Miralem Pjanic's 15th-minute goal was enough to earn Rudi Garcia's men all three points, although they had to survive a storm at the Stadio Olimpico as Napoli pushed in vain for an equaliser.

Lazio kept the heat on Roma by clinching a seventh consecutive league win, beating 10-man Cagliari 3-1.

Miroslav Klose put third-placed Lazio ahead in the 31st minute only for Marco Sau to pull Cagliari level four minutes into the second half.

Lucas Biglia put the visitors back in front on the hour from the penalty spot after Lorenzo Crisetig brought substitute Keita down in the area.

Former Lazio defender Mobido Diakite was shown a straight red eight minutes later when he fouled Keita in the box, but Biglia sent the resulting penalty over the crossbar.

Lazio put the game out of reach with seconds remaining when Marco Parolo struck from outside the area.

Torino maintained their push for European football with a 2-1 victory at struggling Atalanta.

Fabio Quagliarella scored his 11th goal of the campaign in the 20th minute and the visitors doubled their lead before the interval through Kamil Glik.

Atalanta reduced the arrears in the 74th minute when Mauricio Pinilla scored but both teams ended the game with 10 men after Pinilla and Torino substitute Migjen Basha were shown red cards for fighting.

Fiorentina beat Sampdoria 2-0 thanks to two goals in as many minutes from Alessandro Diamanti and Mohamed Salah.

AC Milan picked up their first win away from home since mid-October, and only their third of the season, by beating Palermo 2-1 at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.

Alessio Cerci celebrates after giving AC Milan the lead
Image: Alessio Cerci celebrates after giving AC Milan the lead.

Alessio Cerci gave Filippo Inzaghi's men the lead after 37 minutes, but a Paulo Dybala penalty brought the hosts level in the 72nd minute.

Jeremy Menez restored Milan's lead 10 minutes later, earning them all three points and keeping their hopes alive of qualifying for Europe next season.

Genoa avoided a third straight defeat as they claimed a 1-1 draw against Udinese at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Sebastian De Maio put hosts Genoa in front, but Cyril Thereau levelled midway through the second half to earn a point for Andrea Stramaccioni's side.

Substitute Davide Succi equalised nine minutes from time as Cesena hit back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Hellas Verona.

The hosts appeared to be cruising to victory after two goals from Luca Toni and a third from Juanito Gomez but relegation-threatened Cesena hit back with three strikes in the last 20 minutes.

Substitute Carlos Carbonero scored the visitors' first and Franco Brienza's fantastic free-kick made it 3-2 with 13 minutes left.

Succi then pulled his team level as Cesena stunned the crowd in the Marc' Antonio Bentegodi stadium.

Domenico Berardi struck from the penalty spot to hand 10-man Sassuolo a 1-0 home triumph over Chievo.

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