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Nedved's late strike keeps Juve four points clear
Pavel Nedved scored with a superb free-kick four minutes from time to give Juventus a precious 1-0 win at Bologna.
A slender victory enabled the 27-time champions to restore their four-point lead at the top of Serie A just hours after AC Milan had closed to within a point of the pace-setters with a 6-0 hammering of Fiorentina.
Juventus have 38 points from their 15 matches played, while AC Milan have 34, six more than Udinese who defeated bottom club Atalanta 1-0 on Saturday.
In what is being billed as a title showdown, AC Milan visit the Delle Alpi stadium to face Juve next Saturday for a match that could prove pivotal in the race for the Scudetto.
Juventus coach Fabio Capello insisted his team were good for the three points having created the greater number of chances.
"We played with great pace and rhythm and created the most opportunities," he said. "We started badly and the first 15 minutes was littered with errors, but after that I thought we were on top.
"Bologna fought hard and never stopped fighting and that is what you expect to face when you come and play here.
"But we matched them tackle for tackle and in the end we got what I felt our performance deserved."
Juve came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half when Nedved's looping header hit the base of the post.
The home side battled valiantly and appeared to be heading for a draw until Ciro Capuano tugged Zlatan Ibrahimovic's shirt as the Swedish striker jumped for a high ball on the edge of the penalty box.
Nedved took responsibility and curled a right-footed shot past Gianluca Pagliuca in the Bologna goal.
Bologna were incensed with the referee and the closing stages were peppered with ugly challenges.
Cagliari maintained fourth spot despite losing 3-2 at Reggina where Gaetano De Rosa scored twice for the home side, while Inter Milan were held for the 12th time this season, a 2-2 draw away to struggling Siena.
Despite taking a point, Inter, who are still unbeaten, climbed two places to fifth.
Amantino Mancini's last-gasp penalty gave improving Roma a 1-0 win at Brescia, while Livorno captain Cristiano Lucarelli scored twice in their 2-0 victory at home to Parma.
In other matches, Federico Cossato was also on target twice in Chievo's 2-1 win at home to Palermo and Francesco Flachi's header gave Sampdoria a slender victory against Messina.
Andriy Shevchenko and Clarence Seedorf both scored twice as AC Milan thrashed Fiorentina at the San Siro.
A Seedorf header and Giorgio Chiellini's own goal gave the home side a commanding first half lead, before Shevchenko's brace either side of Hernan Crespo's strike added further misery to the visitors from Florence. Seedorf completed the scoring for AC Milan eight minutes from time with a tap-in after good work from Massimo Ambrosini. On Saturday dark horses Udinese won 1-0 at bottom club Atalanta for their fifth consecutive away victory that strengthened their position in third place. In Saturday's other match, Lazio showed their fighting spirit, coming back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to share six goals with Lecce. Italian league table after Sunday's matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Juventus 15 12 2 1 28 7 38 AC Milan 15 10 4 1 27 9 34 Udinese 15 8 4 3 22 13 28 Cagliari 15 6 4 5 24 25 22 Inter Milan 15 3 12 0 32 24 21 Lecce 15 5 6 4 30 26 21 Palermo 15 5 6 4 13 11 21 Sampdoria 15 6 3 6 11 11 21 Roma 15 5 5 5 25 22 20 Chievo 15 5 5 5 14 18 20 Livorno 15 5 4 6 17 19 19 Reggina 15 5 4 6 14 17 19 Fiorentina 15 4 7 4 14 17 19 Messina 15 4 6 5 18 24 18 Lazio 15 4 5 6 19 20 17 Brescia 15 5 2 8 13 20 17 Bologna 15 3 4 8 13 18 13 Parma 15 2 6 7 15 24 12 Siena 15 2 6 7 10 23 12 Atalanta 15 0 7 8 11 22 7 |
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