Serie A - Week 15: Sunday Review

Parma drew 2-2 with Genoa to go fourth in Serie A but, with the top three all in action on Saturday, it was ten-man Roma's 1-0 derby triumph over Lazio that took centre stage. Elsewhere Fiorentina, Napoli and Palermo were amongst the winners.

Roma 1-0 Lazio
Roma substitute Marco Cassetti struck in the second half to sink Lazio into further misery in a subdued Derby della Capitale. The Giallorossi began the day eight points ahead of their capital rivals but can count themselves fortunate to have increased that gap. The match was held up for five minutes during a quiet first half due to exploding firecrackers in the stands. Mauro Zarate struck a post and Julio Sergio spectacularly denied Stefano Mauri on the rebound as Lazio took charge of large swathes of the game. On 79 minutes, however, Mirko Vucinic picked out Cassetti, who intelligently steered the ball home to send his side sixth despite the 88th-minute dismissal of David Pizarro. The result will be another blow for Davide Ballardini's Lazio, who are without a win since August and remain one point clear of the drop zone.

Genoa 2-2 Parma
High-flying Genoa and Parma shared four goals at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris to keep up their respective searches for a place in Europe next season. Rodrigo Palacio gave Genoa the lead after 14 minutes, but after the home side had wasted numerous chances, Jonathan Biabiany equalised 10 minutes before the break. Biabiany put the visitors ahead on the hour mark, but Raffaelle Palladino levelled for the home side eight minutes later to earn them a point.

Fiorentina 2-0 Atalanta
Fiorentina bounced back from two successive league defeats with an impressive 2-0 victory at home to Atalanta. La Viola's challenge for Champions League positions had been dented by recent results as they slipped to 10th in Serie A, albeit in a tight league table. However, Cesare Prandelli's side were on top form and a stunning goal by Juan Vargas, added onto by Alberto Gilardino late on, earned all three points for the home team against a struggling Atalanta side who finished the match with 10 men after the sending off of substitute Jaime Valdes and had coach Antonio Conte sent to the stands for dissent.

Napoli 3-2 Bari
Fabio Quagliarella scored an 88th minute winner as Napoli twice came from behind to prevail 3-2 at home to Bari. Paulo Vitor Barreto put Bari ahead four minutes into the second half before Quagliarella headed home Walter Gargano's cross just five minutes later. Bari were back in front on the hour mark through Andrea Ranocchia's close-range header, but the visitors then had Alessandro Parisi sent off for a second yellow card. Quagliarella set up Christian Maggio to head home an equaliser on 72 minutes before Ezequiel Lavezzi played in Quagliarella to score two minutes from time. Ranocchia was sent off in stoppage time to complete a miserable ending to a thrilling encounter for Bari.

Palermo 2-1 Cagliari
Simon Kjaer scored the winner for Palermo in the Derby delle Isole as Cagliari's unlikely European challenge stalled with a 2-1 defeat in Sicily. The 20-year-old Denmark international nodded home after 65 minutes to complete a comeback which started when Igor Budan cancelled out Alessandro Matri's opener. The Sardinian visitors, who beat Juventus 2-0 last week and started the day in seventh, were second best for long periods against a Palermo side who maintained their unbeaten record at the Stadio Renzo Barbera and earned their first win under coach Delio Rossi.

Bologna 2-1 Udinese
Bologna closed to within two points of Udinese with a 2-1 victory as their opponents' miserable away form continued. The Bianconeri went into the game at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara looking for their first victory on their travels this season but it was not to be. Adailton opened the scoring for the hosts after 27 minutes and Marco Di Vaio won the match with a 65th-minute penalty after the prolific Antonio Di Natale had equalised just before half-time. The result lifts Bologna up to 15th in the table, four points above the relegation zone and only one place below Udinese.

Livorno 0-2 Chievo
Struggling Livorno slipped to a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Chievo, who took the lead through Luca Rigoni's header after 12 minutes. The hosts saw captain Cristiano Lucarelli sent off on 25 minutes and Simone Bentivoglio settled Chievo's nerves with a second goal on 66 minutes.

Siena 3-2 Catania
Siena's 12-match winless run came to an end as they beat fellow strugglers Catania 3-2 in an entertaining game at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Substitute Michele Paolucci struck the winner shortly after the hour mark to hand the Tuscan outfit their first triumph since August 30. Jorge Martinez put the visitors in front after 14 minutes before substitute Emiliano Calaio levelled the score shortly after the re-start. Martinez scored his second of the afternoon after 58 minutes to hand Catania a 2-1 lead only for Siena defender Claudio Terzi to restore parity seconds later. The outcome has left Siena still at the foot of the Serie A standings, level on nine points with Catania, with both sides three points from safety.

SERIE A REVIEW:
[Saturday 5 December] - [Sunday 6 December]