Sunday 19 April 2015 22:23, UK
Fallen giants Inter Milan and AC Milan remain mired in mid-table obscurity after Sunday's Derby della Madonnina ended goalless.
The second San Siro showdown of the Serie A season was not without incident, however, with both sides feeling the pain of having goals disallowed.
Milan defender Philippe Mexes breathed the deepest sigh of relief after his second-half own goal was chalked off due to a controversial foul from Inter striker Rodrigo Palacio.
The draw shuffles the Rossoneri and Nerazzurri onto 43 and 42 points respectively although their lowly league positions of ninth and 10th are unchanged.
Fifth place, the nearest European berth, is seven points beyond Milan's reach with seven games left.
Roma earlier missed a chance to reclaim second after being held to a 1-1 draw by Atalanta.
The Giallorossi went into the game knowing that victory would see them climb above city rivals Lazio, and Roma captain Francesco Totti put his team ahead from the penalty spot early on.
But German Denis pulled Atalanta level in the capital with a spot-kick midway through the first half.
Napoli closed to within five points of Roma and a Champions League place after cruising to a comfortable 3-0 victory at Cagliari.
Jose Callejon broke the deadlock midway through the first half and the mainlanders were two goals to the good at half-time thanks to a blunder from Antonio Balzano.
Substitute Manolo Gabbiadini brought up 16 goals for the season with a long-range finish just before the hour and Napoli safely navigated the rest of the match after Christian Maggio was dismissed.
The win sees Rafael Benitez's men pull three points clear of fifth-placed Sampdoria while Cagliari - nine points adrift of safety - creep ever closer to a return to Serie B.
Promoted Palermo's mission to finish above the two Milanese clubs is still on course following a 2-1 home victory over Genoa.
A first-half double from Ivaylo Chochev proved enough to draw the Sicilians to within a point of Inter.
Iago Falque responded for Genoa shortly after half-time but the Grifoni were unable to notch the third straight win that would have put pressure on sixth-placed Fiorentina, who are five points better off.
Substitute Ishak Belfodil struck the equaliser as bottom-side Parma denied Empoli a come-from-behind victory in a 2-2 draw in Tuscany.
Francesco Lodi put Parma ahead but goals from Massimo Maccarone and Lorenzo Tonelli gave Empoli a half-time lead.
Belfodil then scored his first league goal since May 2013 to silence the crowd at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.
Bostjan Cesar's own goal cost Chievo an important win over Udinese as they drew 1-1.
The Flying Donkeys are trying hard to secure their top-flight status, but Cesar put the ball into his own net 19 minutes from time. Sergio Pellissier had fired Chievo into the lead six minutes before half-time.
In the early kick-off, Fabio Quagliarella's penalty rescued a 1-1 draw for Torino at after Domenico Berardi had given hosts Sassuolo the lead from the spot at the Mapei Stadium.
