AC Milan stretched their lead at the top of Serie A to four points with a 2-0 victory over Lecce, while closest title challengers Juventus drew again, this time 0-0 with Genoa.
Antonio Nocerino opened the scoring on seven minutes following a neat move with Zlatan Ibrahimović, before the Swedish international turned goalscorer, netting in the league for the 19th time this season. With four wins from their last five, the Rossoneri have taken the initiative from rivals Juventus, who endured their fourth consecutive draw.
Antonio Conte’s side were unable to find an elusive goal at Genoa, but can count themselves unlucky after twice striking the woodwork through Simone Pepe and Mirko Vučinić in a frantic second half.
Third-placed Lazio failed to take advantage, going down 3-1 at home to Bologna. The visitors surged into a two-goal lead inside 28 minutes through Daniele Portanova and Alessandro Diamanti, before matters got even worse for the hosts when Matuzalém was sent off. Despite pulling a goal back, Lazio were reduced to nine men following Álvaro González’s dismissal, and René Krhin made them pay by adding Bologna’s third.
There was another shock defeat for Udinese as Novara moved off the foot of the table with a 1-0 win. Elsewhere, Catania made it five games unbeaten as they defeated Fiorentina courtesy of Francesco Lodi’s 58th-minute penalty, while Siena triumphed 2-0 at ten-man Cesena thanks to second-half strikes from Franco Brienza and Erjon Bogdani.
Parma eased their relegation fears, coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Atalanta, a result which leaves them 16th and six points clear of third-bottom Lecce.