Florence, Italy – Fiorentina put itself back in contention for a place in the top three on Sunday as Adem Ljajic and Stevan Jovetic scored two goals apiece in a convincing 4-1 victory for the Viola over Inter Milan.
The defeat prevents Inter from moving into third place, while Fiorentina climbs to within two points of a top-three place, although Lazio could extend that gap with a win over last-place Siena on Monday.
Fiorentina took charge of the match from the start and went ahead in the 13th minute with a header from Ljajic, while Jovetic found the net for the first time in the 33rd minute with a wonderful strike from 20 yards.
Alberto Aquilani set up the second goal of the contest for Jovetic early in the second half with a clever backheel, and Ljajic matched his teammate with his second of the day 25 minutes from time by curling a shot beyond the reach of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.
Antonio Cassano managed to score a consolation goal in the 87th for Inter, which has recorded only one Serie A win in its last five attempts.
Catania 1, Bologna 0
Catania, Italy - Sergio Almiron's tally three minutes from intermission was enough to lift Catania to a 1-0 win over Bologna at the Stadio Angelo Massimino on Sunday.
Catania had the upper hand for most of the game, controlling 52 percent of possession and firing eight shots toward the Bologna net, but the breakthrough did not come until late in the first half.
Almiron's piece of brilliance came to fruition when he got his head to a well- struck corner kick from Francesco Lodi and powered a rising header into the top left corner of the net.
The result sees Catania rise to seventh place on 39 points, while Bologna remains in 16th place, five points clear of the drop zone.
Napoli 0, Sampdoria 0
Naples, Italy - Napoli wasted a chance to move within two points of Serie A leaders Juventus on Sunday after being held to a scoreless draw with Sampdoria at the Stadio San Paolo.
Napoli dominated the game, putting nine shots in the direction of goal and keeping nearly two-thirds of possession, but they were unable to find a breakthrough as Sampdoria goalkeeper Sergio Romero made three saves to preserve a point for his side.
Napoli remains four points behind Juventus, while Sampdoria sits in 12th on 29 points.
Genoa 1, Udinese 0
Genoa, Italy - Jurai Kucka scored the only goal of the match on Sunday to give Genoa a 1-0 victory over Udinese at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Genoa's breakthrough came in the 33rd minute when Kucka made his way into the Udinese penalty area and got his head to a cross from Daniel Tozser, powering a header past Udinese goalkeeper Daniele Padelli from close range.
The result gives Genoa some breathing room down near the bottom of the table as the club sits in 17th place, but four points from the bottom three. Udinese, meanwhile stays in ninth place with 36 points.
Torino 2, Atalanta 1
Turin, Italy - Valter Birsa's goal three minutes from time lifted Torino to a 2-1 win over Atalanta on Sunday at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino.
The hosts opened the scoring three minutes before halftime when Alessio Cerci ran onto a deft through pass from Paulo Barreto and easily slotted it into the bottom left corner.
Atalanta pulled level in the 75th minute when German Denis converted a penalty kick, but Birsa gave his club all three points when he corralled a cross from Matteo Darmian and popped it into the net.
Torino rises to 11th place on 31 points, while Atalanta remains in 15th place with 27 points.
Cagliari 2, Pescara 0
Pescara, Italy - Marco Sau netted a second-half brace on Sunday to guide Cagliari to a comfortable 2-0 win over relegation-battling Pescara at the Stadio Adriatico.
The traveling side struck first in the 53rd minute when Sau got his head to a cross from Andrea Cossu and nodded it past Pescara goalkeeper Mattia Perin and into the bottom-right corner for the 1-0 lead.
Eight minutes later, Sau was at it again for Cagliari when he controlled a cross in the Pescara box from Francesco Pisano and fired a left-footed strike into the bottom-right corner to secure all three points.
Cagliari rises to 14th place on 28 points, while Pescara remains stuck in the bottom three with just 21 points from 25 matches.
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