Juve closes gap on Milan

Turin, Italy – Juventus turned in one of its best performances of the season on Sunday in securing a 3-0 home win over Napoli that moves the club to within two points of Serie A leaders AC Milan.

The two sides played a scoreless first half but Juve turned on the style after the break with goals from Leonardo Bonucci, Arturo Vidal and Fabio Quagliarella to claim all three points.

Napoli could have joined Lazio in third place with a victory, but instead remains level with Udinese in fourth place, three points back of Lazio.

It took over 50 minutes for Juve to crack the Napoli defense and the goal came from a set piece as Mirko Vucinic played the ball to Bonucci, whose shot took a slight deflection on its way past goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis.

Vidal added a second with a nice piece of individual skill as he got into the area and danced past a defender before finding the far corner with a brilliant left-footed shot.

Juve then put the result out of reach five minutes from time when Quagliarella got down the right wing and hammered a shot past De Sanctis at his near post to haul the Old Lady right back into the thick of the title picture.

Inter Milan 5, Genoa 4

Milan, Italy - Andrea Stramaccioni got off to a good start at Inter Milan as he saw his new side claim a 5-4 win over Genoa at the San Siro on Sunday in a match that included two red cards and four penalty kicks.

Diego Milito scored three goals in the match for Inter, including two in the opening 30 minutes, while Walter Samuel handed the Nerazzurri a three-goal lead before Emiliano Moretti pulled one back just before the break for Genoa.

Rodrigo Palacio scored from the penalty spot to make it 3-2, with Mauro Zarate netting his first goal of the campaign for Inter to restore the two-goal lead.

The final 10 minutes saw Alberto Gilardino convert two penalty kicks for Genoa while Milito completed his hat trick from the spot.

Both teams also had a man sent off as Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar saw red in the 80th minute and Fernando Belluschi received his marching orders for Genoa five minutes later.

In the end Inter was able to hold on for the win, which leaves the club seven points back of third place.

Roma 5, Novara 2

Rome, Italy - Roma improved its European hopes on Sunday with a comfortable 5-2 win over relegation-battling Novara at the Stadio Olimpico.

After the visitors took the lead through Andrea Caracciolo in the 17th minute, Roma responded with four unanswered goals, including one each from Marquinho and Daniel Osvaldo before the break.

Fabio Simplicio and Bojan were on target after halftime to make it 4-1 to the hosts before Takayuki Morimoto reduced the deficit to 4-2 12 minutes from time.

The day was capped off by a goal from Erik Lamela just before the final whistle, clinching a third win in four games for the capital club, which sits four points out of the third and final Champions League spot.

Novara remains in 19th place and nine points from safety.

Palermo 3, Bologna 1

Bologna, Italy - Palermo snapped a five-game winless streak on Sunday by scoring three times in the final 22 minutes to claim a 3-1 victory at Bologna.

The hosts grabbed the lead with 40 minutes to play when Frederik Sorensen found the back of the net to put Bologna into the lead.

However, it only lasted until the 68th minute when Massimo Donati equalized by curling a free kick past goalkeeper Jean Francois Gillet.

Donati set up the second goal for Palermo by feeding Abel Hernandez inside the area, and Bologna's fate was sealed in the final five minutes when a low cross from Hernandez was turned into his own net by Bologna's Archimede Morleo.

Cagliari 2, Atalanta 0

Cagliari, Italy - Cagliari moved comfortably above the drop zone on Sunday after claiming a 2-0 win at home over Atalanta.

Having lost four of its last five games Cagliari was in need of a good result to ease any relegation fears, and the hosts got one Sunday as Daniele Conti netted a goal in the 11th minute to put his team ahead.

Mauricio Pinilla sealed the win in the 54th minute by scoring from close range, while substitute goalkeeper Vlada Avramov made the lead hold up with a few nice saves in the final 10 minutes to snap Atalanta's eight-match unbeaten streak.

Chievo 2, Fiorentina 1

Florence, Italy - Luca Rigoni's late winner moved Chievo into the top half of Serie A on Sunday after helping his team secure a 2-1 win over Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi Stadium.

Sergio Pellissier opened the scoring midway through the opening half, but had his goal canceled out in the 71st minute by Fiorentina substitute Adem Ljajic.

The match appeared headed for a draw, but Alberto Paloschi found Rigoni with a pass inside the penalty area and he was able to beat goalkeeper Artur Boruc to snatch all three points.

Fiorentina is five points clear of the drop zone but has earned just one point from its last four games.

Lecce 0, Cesena 0

Lecce, Italy - Lecce and Cesena did little to help their survival chances as the two sides played to a 0-0 draw on Sunday at the Via del Mare.

Lecce had the best opportunity of the game, which came in stoppage time when Juan Cuadrado had only goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli to beat, but missed the net.

A win would have moved Lecce to within three points of safety, but the result leaves them five adrift with eight games to play.

Cesena's last win came on Jan. 15 and the club is almost certain to be relegated sitting 14 points from safety on the bottom of the league.

Siena 1, Udinese 0

Siena, Italy - Udinese's bid for a Champions League place took another hit on Sunday as the club sustained a 1-0 loss at Siena that leaves them three points adrift of third place.

With Lazio losing 3-1 to Parma on Saturday Udinese had the chance to join them in third place, but the lone goal of the contest came in the 70th minute from Siena's Mattia Destro after a cross from Alessandro Gazzi.

Udinese has now failed to win any of its last five games, while Siena has won four of six to climb eight points above the relegation zone.