Juventus topple unlucky Milan
ROME (AP):
Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez scored either side of half-time as Juventus asserted their dominance in Serie A with a 2-0 win at AC Milan yesterday.
Striding toward their third consecutive title, the victory moved Juventus 11 points ahead of second-place Roma.
Milan, which were starting to gain momentum under new coach Clarence Seedorf, dropped to 10th, six points adrift of the European places.
Milan started strongly with Kaka and Andrea Poli threatening in the first half but Juve took control when Llorente collected a pass from Stephan Lichtsteiner in the 44th to score from the edge of the box and highlight Milan's porous defence.
Then in the 68th, Tevez was left alone to find the target with a shot from outside the area that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar. It was Tevez's 15th goal of the season, putting him atop the Italian league's scoring chart, one ahead of Fiorentina's Giuseppe Rossi, who has been out injured since January.
INJURIES APLENTY
Milan sorely missed Mario Balotelli, who is still recovering from a right shoulder injury. Making matters worse, midfielder Poli was taken to the hospital after getting hit in the face during a collision with Juventus defender Martin Caceres in the 51st.
Earlier, third-placed Napoli was held to a 1-1 draw at relegation-threatened Livorno without their standout forward Gonzalo Higuain.
Belgium midfielder Dries Mertens converted a penalty for Napoli in the 31st but Livorno equalised when a backheel effort from its 19-year-old Senegalese defender Mbaye Ibrahima resulted in an own-goal by Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina in the 39th.
Still, Napoli moved seven points ahead of fourth-placed Fiorentina in the race for the final Champions League spot.
Fiorentina, which were missing two key suspended midfielders in Borja Valero and David Pizarro, lost 1-0 at home to Lazio.
Albanian midfielder Lorik Cana scored for Lazio five minutes in with a bicycle kick.
Elsewhere, Parma beat 10-man Sassuolo 1-0 with a second-minute goal from Marco Parolo.
Also, Sampdoria won 2-0 at Torino with goals from Stefano Okaka and Manolo Gabbiadini; Atalanta beat 10-man Chievo Verona 2-1 after strikes by Carlos Carmona in the 21st and a winner from Luca Cigarini in the 85th; and Genoa beat 10-man Catania 2-0 with goals from Luca Antonelli and Stefano Sturaro.
Earlier in the lunchtime fixture, Cagliari kept its focus to beat visiting Udinese 3-0 amid speculation that the Sardinian club could be sold.