Turin, Italy – Juventus clinched its second consecutive Serie A championship on Sunday after securing a 1-0 win over Palermo at Juventus Stadium.
But it was Palermo that had the upper hand early on as the visitors almost silenced the raucous home crowd when Fabrizio Miccoli struck the woodwork with a shot.
However, the home side grabbed the lead just before the hour mark when Arturo Vidal dispatched a penalty kick in the 59th minute.
After the goal, things got physical and Juventus' Paul Pogba was sent off seven minutes from time for spitting at a Palermo player, which reduced the hosts to 10 men.
But even with the extra man, Palermo was unable to find an equalizer and Juventus secured the three points as well as their 29th league title.
The Old Lady last won consecutive domestic titles in 2005 and 2006, but was then stripped of both titles and relegated to Serie B as a result of a wide- spread match-fixing scandal.
The result sees Juventus move 11 points ahead of second-place Napoli with three matches remaining, while Palermo sits in the bottom three on 32 points from 35 matches, three from safety.
Udinese 3, Sampdoria 1
Udine, Italy - Antonio Di Natale scored on each side of the interval as Udinese secured a comfortable 3-1 victory over Sampdoria on Sunday at the Stadio Friuli.
Di Natale opened the scoring for Udinese in the 29th minute when he ripped one home from outside the box with a well-placed right-footed strike, but Sampdoria got back level five minutes later when Citadin Eder found the back of the net.
Di Natale scored his second of the day in the 52nd minute and Luis Muriel put the result away for Udinese with a goal three minutes from time.
Udinese improves to 57 points from 35 matches, while Sampdoria remains in 15th place with 38 points, six clear of the bottom three.
Napoli 3, Inter Milan 1
Naples, Italy - Edinson Cavani netted a hat trick on Sunday as Napoli rolled to a 3-1 result over Inter Milan at the Stadio San Paolo.
Cavani opened the scoring for Napoli just three minutes into the match, but Ricardo Alvarez buried a penalty kick in the 23rd minute for Inter to put the sides back on level terms.
Cavani converted his own penalty kick 10 minutes later to give his club the lead and put the result on ice when he finished off his hat trick with a goal 12 minutes from time.
Napoli improves to 72 points from 35 matches, while Inter drops into eighth place on 53 points.
AC Milan 1, Torino 0
Milan, Italy - Mario Balotelli's strike six minutes from time lifted AC Milan to a 1-0 win over Torino on Sunday at the San Siro.
Milan was in control for most of the match, controlling 58 percent of the ball and firing eight shots on goal before the only breakthrough of the match finally came in the 84th minute.
Philippe Mexes sent the ball over to Balotelli with a deft headed pass and Balotelli tapped it home from close range to give Milan 65 points from 35 matches, while Torino stays in 16th place.
Catania 3, Siena 0
Catania, Italy - Gonzalo Bergessio bagged a hat trick on Sunday as Catania cruised to a 3-0 win over 10-man Siena at the Stadio Angelo Massimino.
Bergessio opened the scoring for Catania in the 14th minute and things got even better for the home side when Felipe was shown his marching orders three minutes before the break, reducing Siena to 10 men.
Bergessio got his second tally of the afternoon in the 52nd minute and completed the hat trick with 19 minutes to play as Catania improves to 51 points from 35 games, while Siena remains in the drop zone on 30 points.
Genoa 4, Pescara 1
Genoa, Italy - Marco Borriello scored on either side of halftime as Genoa thrashed Pescara by a 4-1 count on Sunday at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Genoa seized control of the match early on as Antonio Flores drew first blood for Genoa in the 19th minute and Borriello followed with a goal 11 minutes later to give the hosts an early 2-0 lead.
Giuseppe Sculli got one back for Pescara in the 35th, but Genoa put the match away in the second half with goals from Borriello and Andrea Bertolacci to move to 35 points, one clear of the bottom three, while Pescara stays at the foot of the table with 22 points.
Lazio 6, Bologna 0
Rome, Italy - Miroslav Klose bagged an impressive five goals on Sunday as Lazio hammered Bologna, 6-0, at the Stadio Olimpico.
Klose netted his first of the match in the 21st minute and Hernanes made it 2-0 for Lazio 10 minutes later.
The remainder of the match turned into the Klose show as the former German international scored in the 36th, 39th, 50th and 61st minutes to complete the rout for Lazio, which rose to seventh place with 55 points, while Bologna fell to 12th with 40 points.
Parma 2, Atalanta 0
Parma, Italy - Parma moved into the top half of the Serie A table on Sunday after posting a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Atalanta at the Stadio Ennio Tardini.
Marco Parolo struck first for Parma right on the stroke of halftime and Jonathan Biabiany added a second goal for the home side two minutes before the hour mark to secure three points for Parma, which climbed to 10th place with 43 points.
Atalanta, meanwhile remains mid-table in 14th place on 39 points from 35 matches.
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