Serie A round up: Juventus go four points clear at the topBy Reuters
Last Updated: 28/02/16 11:16pm
Juventus threw down the gauntlet to Serie A title rivals Napoli by pulling four points clear at the top with a convincing 2-0 victory over Inter Milan.February has seen the reigning champions catch up to and then finally overhaul free-scoring Napoli, but they were only one point clear of the southerners heading into the 27th round of games.
It took second-half goals from Leonardo Bonucci and substitute Alvaro Morata -the latter converting a late penalty - for Juve to earn a breather, safe in the knowledge their status as Scudetto favourites cannot be touched by Napoli when the Azzurri visit Fiorentina on Monday.Roberto Mancini's Inter, the former table-toppers who were distinctly ineffective in Turin, only deigning to threaten their hosts at the death, now face the unenviable task of attempting to overhaul Juve's 3-0 lead in the Coppa Italia semi-finals when the Italian giants meet again on Wednesday.
The results of Sunday's earlier games transformed the make-up of the relegation battle, with Sampdoria, Palermo and Carpi making gains while Genoa, Frosinone and Hellas Verona sank further into the mire.
Vincenzo Montella's Sampdoria were previously without a win in eight attempts but snapped that bad run to pull five points clear of the bottom three after goals from Fernando and Fabio Quagliarella settled a 2-0 home victory over Frosinone.
The promoted southerners are four points behind Palermo, who grounded out a point from a goalless draw with Bologna in Sicily, thanks largely to the heroics of stand-in goalkeeper Josip Posavec.
Simone Verdi's second-half penalty saw 19th-placed Carpi take a valuable point from a 1-1 draw with Atalanta. The mid-table Bergamo side took the lead through Jasmin Kurtic but a first victory in 12 attempts eluded them as Verdi levelled from the spot with 15 minutes remaining.
Basement boys Hellas Verona look increasingly doomed. After winning twice in February to recover a lost sensation of hope, a 2-0 defeat at Udinese means they are now nine daunting points behind Palermo.
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu and Cyril Thereau scored the goals for a team who, sitting in 14th place, are still not totally assured of top-flight football.
Also facing a late scrap to ensure they avoid the drop are Genoa, with Gian Piero Gasperini's men submitting to upwardly-mobile Chievo after Lucas Castro's diving header clinched a 1-0 win.
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