Inter maintained their eight-point lead at the Serie A summit with a 3-0 defeat of Cagliari but are now being followed by Roma following their 1-0 victory at Fiorentina and AC Milan's goalless draw at Bologna. Elsewhere Napoli were beaten by Udinese and troubled Lazio drop into the relegation zone.
Inter 3-0 Cagliari
Inter temporarily moved 10 points clear at the top of Serie A with a convincing 3-0 victory against in-form Cagliari at the San Siro. Winter signing Goran Pandev gave them the perfect start after five minutes before Argentinian duo Walter Samuel and Diego Milito scored either side of half time to wrap the game up for Jose Mourinho's men. The result ended a six-game unbeaten run for Massimiliano Allegri's Cagliari, denting their hopes of European qualification.
Fiorentina 0-1 Roma
Roma moved above AC Milan into second place in Serie A thanks to a smash-and-grab 1-0 win at Fiorentina. Mirko Vucinic stole all three points for the Giallorossi with the only goal of the game with only eight minutes remaining after Fiorentina had dominated the game from start to finish, but failed to turn their pressure into goals. The Viola, who sit mid-table with a game in hand, were left empty-handed after one of their most impressive performances of the last few months while Claudio Ranieri's Roma extended their excellent run of form to 12 Serie A games without defeat.
Bologna 0-0 Milan
AC Milan fell 10 points behind city rivals Inter after an uninspiring goalless draw at Bologna. With Inter cruising past Cagliari 3-0 at the San Siro, a win for Leonardo's men was key to their hopes of keeping the pressure on their great rivals in the race for the Scudetto. But a failure to find the back of the net - although they went very close, twice hitting the woodwork - maintained their poor recent run of three games without victory. The result leaves Bologna three points above the relegation zone.
Udinese 3-1 Napoli
Antonio Di Natale scored twice in injury-time to complete a hat-trick for Udinese in a 3-1 victory against in-form Napoli, ending the visitors' long 16-match league unbeaten run under coach Walter Mazzarri. Di Natale punished his hometown club, who had goalscorer Christian Maggio sent off just before half-time, to give the Bianconeri a first win in eight Serie A contests. It provided Gianni De Biasi with a first victory since he took charge in December, easing the club's relegation fears while Napoli remain fourth in the standings, one point clear of Palermo.
Lazio 0-1 Catania
Catania claimed a crucial 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Lazio to move themselves out of the Serie A relegation zone, at the expense of their opponents. New signing Maxi Lopez grabbed the only goal of the game at the Stadio Olimpico to heap yet more pressure on Lazio coach Davide Ballardini. The result is only the second away win of the season for Sinisa Mihajlovic's side but it will give them a huge boost in their bid to retain their top-flight status.
Siena 1-2 Sampdoria
Sampdoria made the most of defensive mistakes by Siena to strengthen thier claims on a place in European competition next season with a 2-1 victory. Sampdoria had cemented their place on the fringes of European qualification with successive wins and they made it three in a row despite a late fightback from the home side. Daniele Gastaldello opened the scoring in the third minute when he punished a mistake by goalkeeper Gianluca Curci. Nicola Pozzi doubled the lead with 13 minutes remaining after a mix-up between Curci and Francesco Pratali. With eight minutes remaining Siena got back into the game with a goal from Massimo Maccarone but it wasn't enough for the bottom club, who are now ten points adrift of safety.
Genoa 1-0 Chievo
Genoa remained in contention for a place in Europe next season thanks to a narrow 1-0 win over Chievo. Captain Marco Rossi earned his side all three points with a 63rd-minute strike which takes the Rossoblu level on points with seventh placed Juventus in the Serie A table, but still a point behind sixth place, which is currently occupied by their city rivals Sampdoria.
Atalanta 1-0 Bari
Simone Tiribocchi came off the bench to score a late winner for Atalanta as they gave their Serie A survival hopes a timely boost with a 1-0 win against Bari. Back-to-back defeats had seen Atalanta drop into the relegation zone ahead of the contest, but Tiribocchi's strike eight minutes from time was enough to earn them the points at the Stadio Azzurri D'Italia. The Bergamo outfit remain second from bottom in the table however, three points below Livorno who hold the last position of safety, while Bari slip to 10th.
SERIE A REVIEW:
[Saturday 6 February] - [Sunday 7 February]
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