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Serie A round-up

Image: Andrea Pirlo is mobbed after scoring for Juventus in their 4-0 win over Roma

Juventus moved three points clear at the top of Serie A with a 4-0 win over ten-man Roma, while AC Milan were held at home.

Juve go three points clear as Milan and Lazio are held at home

Juventus moved three points clear at the top of Serie A with a 4-0 win over ten-man Roma, while AC Milan were held at home. AC Milan dropped another two points in the defence of their Serie A title, while third-placed Lazio were also held on home soil. Inter Milan missed the chance to close on the top four, rock-bottom Cesena picked up another point and Siena prevailed on an eventful afternoon in Genoa. Juventuscapitalised on AC Milan's slip-up against Bologna earlier on Sunday to take a firm grip in the Serie A title race with an impressive 4-0 victory over Roma in Turin. The home side got off to a flying start when Arturo Vidal converted from Paolo De Ceglie's cross after just four minutes and he doubled the lead four minutes later with a superb strike. Things got worse for Roma on the half hour mark when Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was controversially sent off for bringing down Claudio Marchisio for a penalty. Substitute goalkeeper Gianluca Curci saved Andrea Pirlo's spot-kick only to see the midfielder score from the rebound. Marchisio added the fourth on 52 minutes with a clinical low shot from outside the box to complete the rout. AC Milan were able to snatch a share of the spoils from a meeting with Bologna, but would have been hoping for much more than a 1-1 draw at Giuseppe Meazza. Gaston Ramirez's 26th minute opener rattled the reigning champions and it appeared as though a serious shock would be on the cards. Bologna were offered a further helping hand eight minutes from time when Daniele Bonera was shown a second yellow card. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was able to dig Milan out of a sizeable hole in stoppage-time, but they have now won only one of their last four fixtures. Lazio remain inside the UEFA Champions League places, but will be disappointed to have seen two points slip through their grasp in a 1-1 draw with struggling Lecce. Both goals in the capital clash arrived inside the final eight minutes, with Valeri Bojinov cancelling out Matuzalem's 82nd minute header in time added on. Inter Milan are three points adrift of the top four after playing out a goalless draw with Fiorentina. Things could have been worse for the Nerazzurri, with Julio Cesar saving an Adem Ljajic spot-kick to keep the scores level.

Basement battle

Cesena's relegation out of the top-flight is yet to be confirmed and they will take heart from a 2-2 draw with Palermo. A side destined to slip out of Serie A this season showed they are capable of putting up a fight as they held a top-half outfit. Nicolas Bertolo handed Palermo a 20th minute lead, but two goals in the space of as many minutes from Mario Santana (26) and Vincenzo Rennella (28) turned the tie on its head. Things stayed that way until the stroke of half-time, when Matias Silvestre grabbed an equaliser for the visitors. Genoa and Siena were both desperate for points in their respective survival battles heading into their weekend encounter, and emotions spilled over at times. Siena raced into a four-goal lead at Luigi Ferraris, with Franco Brienza (17 & 37) netting a first-half brace and Mattia Destro also finding the target before the interval. Luigi Giorgi all but wrapped up the points four minutes after the re-start, but the game was brought to an abrupt halt shortly before the hour mark due to crowd trouble. It was eventually brought to a conclusion, with an own goal from Cristiano Del Grosso the only incident of note as Siena wrapped up a 4-1 success.

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