Serie A

Juve Extend Lead In Serie A

Juventus LogoJuventus stretched their lead at the Serie A summit to seven points with a comprehensive 3-0 victory against ten-man Atalanta, on a day when Napoli blew the chance to move second.

Atalanta have claimed some considerable scalps this season but any ambitions of adding to that list looked bleak when Mirko Vučinić swept in after two minutes. Andrea Pirlo doubled the Bianconeri’s lead with a stunning free-kick, before Claudio Marchisio’s speculative effort whistled past visiting goalkeeper Andrea Consigli. Atalanta’s first-half misery was complete when Thomas Manfredini was sent off for two bookable offences.

Napoli appeared likely to reduce the gap to five points when Edinson Cavani fired them into a 2-1 lead against Bologna with 20 minutes remaining. The Partenopei remain a point behind Inter MIlan, however, after Panagiotis Kone restored parity with four minutes to go and defender Daniele Portanova completed a remarkable late turnaround a minute from time.

In Sunday’s early kick-off, Fiorentina beat Siena 4-1 thanks in part to a pair of goals from Luca Toni, while AC Milan made it four wins from as many league games, overcoming Pescara by the same scoreline. Massimiliano Allegri’s side are now two points shy of sixth-placed AS Roma, who lost 1-0 at Chievo.

Elsewhere, Parma and Calcio recorded home successes against Cagliari and Sampdoria respectively, while the game between Genoa and Torino ended in a 1-1 draw.