Napoli conquered Bologna to secure second place, Fiorentina won the Tuscan Derby, Juve clinched victory in Bergamo and Udinese stunned Palermo in a 3-2 thriller in Serie A action tonight.
AC Milan beat relegated Pescara 4-0 to close in on a top-three finish and that all-important Champions League spot.
The contest in Pescara was nine minutes old when Mario Balotelli struck from the spot. Sulley Muntari took Robinho’s free-kick and finished unerringly to make it two and Mathieu Flamini put the result beyond doubt after half-time. Balotelli added the final flourish, turning inside the area and slamming high into the roof of the net.
As for the champions, they made it nine victories in a row thanks to Alessandro Matri’s 18th-minute winner in Bergamo, while second-placed Napoli beat Bologna 3-0. Marek Hamsik, Cavani and Dzemaili with the goals.
Elsewhere, Udinese beat Palermo 3-2 to climb into fifth and all but end Palermo’s hope of avoiding relegation. Palermo looked like they had battled back for a draw, but with six minutes to go, a howler by Palermo goalkeeper Sorrentino gifted Udinese the goal and more importantly all three points.
Lazio are two points back in sixth after beating Inter Milan 3-1. It was Lazio’s first win at San Siro in 15 years and officially knocked the Nerazzurri out of the race for Europe.
At the bottom end of the table, Torino and Genoa drew 0-0, while Siena must conjure something special to wriggle free of the relegation noose after losing 1-0 at home to fourth-placed Fiorentina. Meanwhile, Parma FC won 1-0 at Cagliari Calcio.
The bottom of the table looks like this with two games to go:
16: Torino 37 points
17: Genoa 36 points
18: Palermo 32 points
19: Siena 30 points
20: Pescara 22 points
