Serie A : Juventus back on top as Milan fall

koclokindoblog, 8 April 2012,

Juventus returned to the top of the Serie A after a 2-0 win at Palermo on Saturday, as AC Milan slipped up.

Milan - who began the day one point clear at the summit - missed a chance to go four points clear ahead of Juve's fixture with a shock 2-1 loss at home to Fiorentina.

And Antonio Conte's men took full advantage of Milan's slip-up, extending their unbeaten streak to 36 matches in all competitions - and 31 in Serie A - with an impressive performance at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.

After a goalless first half, Juve flexed their muscle in the second and Leonardo Bonucci gave them the lead 12 minutes after the restart.

Juventus wrapped up the win 13 minutes later when Fabio Quagliarella converted Alessandro Matri's assist to seal the club's fourth league triumph in a row.

Juve last lost a competitive match on May 15 last year when they were defeated 1-0 at Parma in the Serie A.

Milan's 2-1 defeat was even more surprising given that they took the lead.

Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted a 31st-minute penalty for Massimiliano Allegri's side and it was an advantage they carried into the break.

Montenegro striker Stevan Jovetic levelled proceedings two minutes into the second half before Amauri - formerly on the books of Juventus - scored the winner in the dying stages.

Meanwhile, Kwadwo Asamoah scored a brace in Udinese's 3-1 home win over Parma.

The Ghanaian netted on the stroke of half-time and in second-half injury-time, with Antonio Di Natale also getting on the scoresheet for the winners.

Luis Muriel and David Di Michele grabbed doubles for Lecce as the relegation-threatened side beat sixth-placed Roma 4-2, while Inter Milan had to come from behind twice to secure a 2-2 draw at Cagliari.

Mattia Destro's 90th-minute winner gave Siena a 2-1 victory at Atalanta and Chievo beat a 10-man Catania 3-2.

Cesena and Bologna played out a goalless stalemate while strugglers Novara and Genoa could not be separated either, as they were forced to share the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

Lazio retained a firm grip on third place, 10 points behind Milan, with a 3-1 home win over Napoli.

Midfielder Antonio Candreva gave the home side a ninth minute lead only for Goran Pandev to equalise 11 minutes before half-time.

Goals from Stefano Mauri (61st minute) and an 81st minute penalty from Cristian Ledesma guaranteed Lazio the three points.

soccerway.com