Serie A, Week 14: Lazio down Udinese

In the final minutes of the first half, Gabriele Paletta evaded Ranocchia to head a free kick just wide at the far post. Biabiany then went close with a speculative shot from 30 yards, before Amauri sent a header from a corner into Handanovic’s gloves.

Mirante thwarted Guarin once again just past the hour, turning a 30 yard drive over the bar.

Cannavaro almost turned Conti’s dangerous low cross into his own net as the ball hit his boot and bounced onto the bar, with De Sanctis left scrambling back.

Cagliari continued to press. On 55 minutes, Ekdal’s sublime control and pull back found Nainggolan, who struck a first time shot just wide from outside the penalty area.

The pressure’s on for Napoli: Juventus have finally started to slip, losing their second game of the season to AC Milan this weekend, and collecting just four points from their last three matches. Inter Milan managed just one point from their last two, needing an own goal from Cagliari last week to even get a draw. Fiorentina have moved in to second following a hard-earned draw with Torino. But a win in Sardinia could see the partenopei overtake their rivals and move back into second -- assuming Inter falters against Parma, of course.

But put pressure on Napoli and it’s just as likely their house will tumble down as you’ll produce a diamond. Without Edinson Cavani this week, it’ll be up to Marek Hamsik and Lorenzo Insigne to score the goals. Hamsik’s performance in the draw with Milan last week was tepid and uninspiring, while Insigne is still inconsistent.

He added: “If someone thinks that referees are in bad faith then they should just say it, otherwise they need to stay within the spectre of an error.

”Referees can make mistakes just like a Coach can get his starting line-up wrong and a striker can miss a goal.

But things suddenly got interesting fifteen minutes before the end of normal time. Cuadrado, who spent much of the match rolling around with one eye open, checking to see if anyone had noticed, finally saw his histrionics pay off. A clash with D’Ambrosio caused a tumble inside the area. The defender was rewarded with a yellow, Viola with a penalty. Gonzalo Rodríguez put it away to even the scoreline.

A good save from Perin denied Destro a second goal on 32 minutes. The frontman met Totti’s inch perfect cross and powered a header at goal, only to see it palmed over. Marquinhos ballooned over the resulting corner from a few yards out.

Totti was the driving force behind Roma going forward and saw a long range effort parried to safety. Pescara suddenly awoke from their slumber and came into the match during the last ten minutes.

Milan also negotiated their path into the last 16 of the Champions League in midweek, but their hopes of reclaiming the Scudetto fizzled out weeks ago. The Rossoneri are a huge 17 points behind Juventus and Massimiliano Allegri’s position is still a delicate one.

So far, Milan have lost four out of their seven home games, while Juventus are the joint-highest goalscorers away from home with 16 and knocked Milan out of last year’s Coppa Italia.

Palermo could have scored five or six, but in the end, the 3-1 rosanero victory was enough to lift them out of the relegation zone. Fabrizio Miccoli opened the scoring and Josip Ilicic had a brace, making Francesco Lodi’s goal just consolation for Catania.

Going forward, Catania looked not only devoid of inspiration, but lacking in necessary skill. The visitors just couldn’t seem to string two passes together, and resorted to slipping near the area in attempts to find a goal. In fact, their best chances came from free kicks. Sergio Almiron blasted one in the 19th minute, forcing a great save from Benussi. In the dwindling minutes of the first half, Lodi put his free kick on target, forcing Benussi to push it away. But they just couldn’t find a way to create from open play.

Palermo, still struggling to come to terms with the fact that they’ve been the lesser side on the island over the past couple years, can take comfort in the fact that at least Catania don’t perform as well away from home. They’ve yet to win on the road this season, although they’ve picked up three draws.

Palermo Injuries and Suspensions