Milan, Italy – Inter Milan won its seventh straight, and for 1 win over Lazio on Sunday.
Inter, near the bottom of the standings before the streak, has surged into the top four, as it overtook Lazio for fourth place. Lazio, which took the lead in the 30th minute through Tommaso Rocchi, slipped to fifth.
Inter survived an early scare at the San Siro when Lucio made a mistake in the back to that allowed Rocchi to poke a shot on goal that bounced off the post.
But on the half-hour mark, Rocchi made up for the miss when he latched onto an absolutely perfect through ball from Cristian Ledesma, and drove a first-time effort from the right back inside the left post.
Inter was level before halftime, though, as Milito and Ricardo Alvarez worked a perfect give-and-go in traffic. Milito received the final pass on the left, then slotted back from the corner of the 6-yard box to inside the right post.
Pazzini secured another Inter win in the 63rd as Lucio headed from midfield to find the goalscorer behind Lazio's defense. Despite a hint of offside, Pazzini raced onto the pass and flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot to loop a shot over Lazio goalie Federico Marchetti and into the net.
Inter made the slim advantage hold up for the remainder of the match, as Lazio surrendered its place among the top four. Inter is now just six points out of first place in Serie A.
AC Milan 3, Novara 0
Novara, Italy - Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as AC Milan moved back within one point of Serie A leader Juventus on Sunday with a 3-0 victory over Novara at the Stadio Silvio Piola.
Ibrahimovic scored in the 57th and 90th minutes and Robinho added a third goal in the second half on 74 minutes as Milan rebounded from its loss in the Milan derby last weekend. Inter Milan won the derby, 1-0.
Milan slipped four points off the pace Saturday when Juventus downed Atalanta, and after a scoreless opening half, the defending champions were in danger of dropping points for the second straight week.
Ibrahimovic took a long pass from Massimo Ambrosini to slot past Novara goalie Samir Ujkani just before the hour mark, and Robinho had little to do to finish off a nice build-up by El Shaarawy to double the lead.
Milan added the clincher in the final minute of normal time as Ibrahimovic hit a drive from outside the area past Ujkani for his 14th goal, which is tied for the Serie A lead.
Palermo, Italy - Igor Budan, Matias Silvestre and Andrea Mantovani all scored in a 17-minute stretch of the first half as Palermo overcame an early deficit and rolled to a 5-3 win over Genoa at the Stadio Renzo Barbera on Sunday.
Rodrigo Palacio opened the scoring after 13 minutes, but Mantovani's goal with 3 minutes remaining in the first half capped the three-goal outburst, and then two more goals after half sealed Palermo's win.
Palacio did add a second goal early after half to cut the deficit to one goal, but Fabrizio Miccoli scored in the 75th and Giulio Migliaccio followed in the 84th as Palermo sealed the win.
Palermo snapped a six-match winless skid that included three losses, and moved to eighth in the Serie A table. Bosko Jankovic added a late goal for Genoa, which lost for the third time in its last four and is 10th.
Siena 1, Napoli 1
Siena, Italy - Goran Pandev scored in the 86th minute, under 10 minutes after teammate Edinson Cavani missed a penalty kick, as Napoli escaped with a point with a 1-1 draw against Siena on Sunday at the Stadio Comunale.
Emanuele Calaio fired Siena in front earlier in the second half, but after the saved penalty by Siena goalie Gianluca Pegolo, Pandev's fifth goal this season kept Napoli from its fifth loss of the season.
Napoli, a Champions League last 16 participant this season, dropped points for the second straight week, and has slipped to seventh in the table.
Siena picked up points for the third time in its last four and sits four clear of the relegation zone in 17th.
Lecce 2, Chievo 2
Lecce, Italy - David Di Michele scored 3 minutes into stoppage time as Lecce tied Chievo, 2-2, on Sunday at the Stadio Via del Mare in Serie A.
Alberto Paloschi scored in the opening minute and again after 23 minutes for a quick brace, but Andrea Esposito pulled a goal back on the half-hour mark, and Di Michele rescued a point in the dying minutes.
Lecce notched the late goal when Di Michele reached Cristian Pasquato's cross, then fired past Stefano Sorrentino.
With four points in its last two matches, Lecce has climbed one point off the foot of the table. Chievo sits mid-table in ninth after just its fourth result on the road this season (three of which are draws).
Udine, Italy - Antonio Di Natale's goal 8 minutes into the second half turned into the difference as Udinese defeated Catania, 2-1, at the Stadio Friuli on Sunday to move back within three points of the Serie A lead.
Udinese dropped six points off the pace Saturday when Juventus beat Atalanta, 2-0, but an own goal from Mariano Izco after 20 minutes staked Udinese to the quick lead and Di Natale put his side in control in the 53rd.
Despite a loss to Genoa last week, Udinese is third in the table, just two off second-place AC Milan and three behind first-place Juventus.
Francesco Lodi converted a penalty in the 95th for Catania, which dropped its second straight and sits seven points above the relegation zone in 13th.
Bologna 0, Parma 0
Bologna, Italy - Bologna and Parma played to an uneventful 0-0 draw Sunday at the Stadio Renato Della'Ara, as both sides failed to make a climb toward the top half of the Serie A standings.
Parma posted its fifth draw in its last seven, when it also has a victory and a draw, and sits 12th on 23 points. Bologna is unbeaten in three in a row and is 16th on 20 points, just five above the relegation zone.
Cagliari 0, Fiorentina 0
Cagliari, Italy - Fiorentina and Cagliari played to a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Sant'Elia on Sunday, as the bottom-half sides both missed a chance to move up the Serie A standings.
Cagliari is unbeaten in three straight after its second straight draw, and is 11th in the standings. Fiorentina has just one loss in its last five, but the run includes just one win and three draws as the club sits 14th.