Rome, Italy (SportsNetwork.com) - AS Roma opened the door for Juventus to extend its lead atop the Serie A table as the club was held to a 1-1 home draw by Empoli on Saturday.
It was a poor first half from Roma as Konstantinos Manolas received a straight red card in the 38th minute, reducing the hosts to 10 men.
Empoli took advantage of Manolas' denial of a scoring opportunity as Massimo Maccarone converted a penalty immediately after, but Roma was dealt a lifeline just before halftime as Riccardo Saponara was issued two yellow cards in quick succession.
With both teams playing with 10 men for the second half, Roma eventually got back on equal terms as Maicon leveled the score in the 57th minute.
Neither side managed to find a winner in the remaining 33 minutes, leaving Roma on 43 points for the season. Juventus will attempt to go nine points clear at the summit with a victory at Udinese on Sunday.
In Serie A's earlier fixture, Fiorentina rallied for a point in a 1-1 draw at Genoa.
The hosts were in front thanks to an own goal from Ciprian Tatarusanu in the 14th minute, but Gonzalo Rodriguez equalized for Fiorentina in the 55th.
Genoa had Nicolas Burdisso sent off for a second yellow card in the 81st minute, but the visitors were unable to capitalize on the ejection.
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