Juventus end year on a high, Inter win derby
Sunday, December 22, 2013
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Juventus will begin 2014 five points clear in Serie A after beating Atalanta BC 4-1 to maintain their advantage over AS Roma, while FC Internazionale Milano edged the Milan derby 1-0.
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Juventus ended the year five points clear at the top of Serie A thanks to a 4-1 victory at Atalanta BC, while FC Internazionale Milano won the Milan derby 1-0.
Carlos Tévez fired Juve ahead from the edge of the area after six minutes and although Maximiliano Moralez levelled the scores, Paul Pogba restored the visitors' advantage from close range just after the restart. Fernando Llorente's turn and finish and a far-post flick from Arturo Vidal then sealed a ninth consecutive win for Antonio Conte's men.
As for Roma – who kick off 2014 against the Bianconeri on 5 January – they stayed within reach of the summit by making light work of bottom club Calcio Catania. Medhi Benatia struck either side of a Mattia Destro effort before Gervinho rounded off a 4-0 triumph.
The evening's Milan derby was a far tighter affair, remaining goalless until Rodrigo Palacio won the spoils for Inter on 86 minutes, with AC Milan subsequently losing Sulley Muntari to a red card in added time. The result sent the Nerazzurri back up to fifth ahead of Hellas Verona FC – who downed SS Lazio 4-1 – with the Rossoneri down in 13th.
Elsewhere, Giuseppe Rossi scored an 82nd-minute winner as fourth-placed ACF Fiorentina prevailed 1-0 at struggling US Sassuolo Calcio, while Bologna FC climbed out of the bottom three with a 1-0 success against Genoa CFC. Torino FC overcame AC Chievo Verona 4-1 and UC Sampdoria drew 1-1 with Parma FC.