Napoli secured a 2-1 win over Inter on Monday night while Fiorentina dropped points at Sassuolo to leave Maurizio Sarri’s side clear at the top.
Gonzalo Higuain bagged a brace at the San Paolo to set the Partenopei on their way, but an Adem Ljajic strike set up a frantic finish with Pepe Reina pulling off a dramatic save in the last minute of injury time.
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However, the hosts were able to hold on as they moved to 31 points after 14 games, a point above second-placed Inter while Fiorentina remain third and two points adrift.
Borja Valero’s early goal had given the Viola the advantage against Sassuolo, but Paulo Sousa’s side were denied all three points after veteran striker Sergio Floccari headed home before half-time.
Elsewhere, Roma coach Rudi Garcia came under more pressure after his side were unable to respond to their humiliating 6-1 loss to Barcelona in midweek and lost 2-0 at home to Atalanta.
It remains to be seen how long the French tactician has to save his job, but he will be fully aware of the fact that the Giallorossi need to turn things around as soon as possible.
In contrast, things are looking more positive for Juventus as they made it four consecutive wins in Serie A with a 3-0 victory away at Palermo and are now three points adrift of Roma and seven of Napoli.
While they continue to try to close the gap on the top teams, AC Milan are also in the process of edging closer to the European qualification spots as they arguably produced their best performance of the season in a 4-1 win over Sampdoria.
A double from M’Baye Niang helped Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men on the right path as the talented youngster finally showed signs of what he is capable of. It remains to be seen how much more ground the Rossoneri can make up before the winter break, but they certainly have a favourable schedule in the coming weeks.
Results:
Torino 2-0 Bologna
Milan 4-1 Sampdoria
Chievo 2-3 Udinese
Frosinone 3-2 Verona
Roma 0-2 Atalanta
Genoa 1-2 Carpi
Empoli 1-0 Lazio
Palermo 0-3 Juventus
Sassuolo 1-1 Fiorentina
Napoli 2-1 Inter
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