Turin, Italy – Simone Pepe and Fabio Quagliarella scored and long unbeaten streak to 15 games to return to the top 0 win against overmatched Novara.
Pepe opened the scoring after 4 minutes at Juventus Stadium, and Quagliarella clinched a deserved win in the 75th. Juve won for the sixth time in eight home games against two draws.
AC Milan took over first Saturday with a 2-0 win over Siena, but Juve regained its place atop the standings after 15 games with its ninth victory against six draws this season.
Pepe handed Juve the early lead when he reached Paolo De Ceglie's pass and was able to fire a right-footed shot into the lower right from close range.
Juventus controlled the match, dominating possession and scoring chances, but it failed to seal its win until there were just 15 minutes remaining.
Andrea Pirlo set up the second goal with a pass from a corner and Quagliarella headed the ball from the middle of the area to the bottom-left corner, bagging his first goal of the season.
Novara lost for the fourth time in its last six matches and remained buried in the bottom three in 19th place with just 11 points from 15 matches.
Lazio 2, Udinese 2
Rome, Italy - Udinese failed to join Juventus at the top of the Serie A table on Sunday after being held to a 2-2 draw by Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
A goal from Antonio Floro Flores midway through the opening half handed Udinese the lead, but his opener was canceled out a few minutes before the break by Senad Lulic.
The home side then took the lead early in the second half through an own goal from Damiano Ferronetti, but Giampiero Pinzi helped his team claim a point with a goal in the 72nd minute.
Udinese will face Juventus on Wednesday with Juve holding a two-point lead at the top of the league. Lazio is fourth and remains two points back of Udinese.
Roma 3, Napoli 1
Naples, Italy - Napoli saw its five-match unbeaten streak come to an end on Sunday at the Stadio San Paolo as Roma came away with a 3-1 victory to move into seventh place.
Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis handed Roma the lead after three minutes when he bundled a cross from Erik Lamela into his own net.
The lead was doubled by the visitors in the 58th minute with Pablo Osvaldo scoring his sixth goal of the campaign before Marek Hamsik handed his team a chance by scoring eight minutes from time.
However, Roma sealed its first win in four games as Fabio Simplicio notched a goal in the 89th minute to put the result out of reach.
Inter Milan 1, Cesena 0
Cesena, Italy - Andrea Ranocchia scored in the 63rd minute as Inter Milan won for the fifth time in its last six Serie A matches, 1-0, over Cesena at Stadio Dino Manuzzi on Sunday, to solidify its place in the top half of the table.
Inter sat just above the relegation zone just a month ago, but Claudio Ranieri - who took over a few matches into the season - has the 2010 European champion back on track.
Since opening the season with two losses and a draw before Ranieri took over, Inter has settled in and posted its third shutout in its last four games with the clean sheet against Cesena.
Ranocchia provided the lone goal against Cesena, as he reached a Maicon cross, and headed home from close range. While Inter remained within 10 points of the league lead, Cesena - which had won three of four - is still in the drop zone.
Parma 3, Lecce 3
Parma, Italy - Daniele Galloppa scored 3 minutes into stoppage time as Parma rallied from two goals down in the second half to draw last-place Lecce, 3-3, on Sunday at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Serie A.
Sergio Floccari put Parma in front after 18 minutes from the penalty spot, but David Di Michele scored twice in a 2-minute span after half and Juan Cuadrado added a third to put Lecce in front by two goals.
Graziano Pelle pulled the first goal back in the 85th, and Galloppa scored the tying goal off a left-footed shot from outside the area for Parma.
Parma's winless streak reached four, although its last three matches are ties, while Lecce snapped a four-game losing streak to pick up just its ninth point.
Catania, Italy - Francesco Lodi and Maxi Lopez scored on each side of halftime as Catania downed Palermo, 2-0, on Sunday at Stadio Angelo Massimino in Serie A.
Lodi opened the scoring when he drove a free kick into the top-left corner in the 32nd minute, and Lopez doubled the lead when he converted a penalty in the 61st.
Catania had lost three of its last five, but used its fifth win of the season to secure an upper-half spot after 15 matches. Palermo lost for the third time in its last five games, but also remained in the top half.
Genoa 2, Bologna 1
Genoa, Italy - Lucas Pratto scored 5 minutes from time as Genoa edged Bologna, 2-1, on Sunday at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris for its second victory in its last three Serie A matches.
Marco Rossi opened the scoring in the 39th minute for Genoa, but Bologna tied the match in the 51st through Gaston Ramires. The draw held until the closing minutes, when Pratto turned Andrea Caracciolo's pass into the lower right.
Genoa secured a top-half place after 15 matches, while Bologna is just three points above the relegation zone after its unbeaten run ended at three games.
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