Icardi brace helps Inter thrash Udinese to stay on top of Serie A
Serie A leaders Inter Milan moved four points clear at the top with a convincing 4-0 victory at Udinese.
Mauro Icardi scored once in each half with Stevan Jovetic and substitute Marcelo Brozovic - the author of a fine solo goal at the death - also on target at the Stadio Friuli. Second-placed Fiorentina can close the gap to a single point by beating Juventus in Turin on Sunday.
Inter looked incisive from the off, with Adem Ljajic threading a ball through the middle to Ivan Perisic, who set up Jovetic only for Orestis Karnezis to make a spectacular save. The next Inter attack yielded a goal. Bruno Fernandes' pass back to Karnezis was a poor one and Icardi capitalised by stealing in to sweep the ball home.
Inter's tails were up and Jovetic made it 2-0, again thanks to an error by the hosts as Maurizio Domizzi's swipe at thin air allowed the Montenegrin an easy finish under the stranded Karnezis. Cyril Thereau and Udinese had a goal ruled out for offside shortly after the break and in the 69th minute Samir Handanovic did well to keep both Silvan Widmer and Manuel Iturra at bay.
Inter always looked like scoring again and Icardi provided the third goal with seven minutes remaining, the Argentinian beating Karnezis with his left foot. The best finish of the night belonged to Brozovic, though.
Fredy Guarin slipped him a pass and, after switching feet, he steered his strike from the left flank to the far corner of Karnezis' goal.
Genoa 0, Bologna 1
Luca Rossettini's stoppage-time goal boosted Bologna to an unlikely 1-0 victory over Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
The Grifone dominated throughout but were thwarted by Bologna goalkeeper Antonio Mirante, who made countless saves to regularly frustrate the likes of Serge Gakpe and Goran Pandev. Genoa's dominance finally waned when substitute Diego Perotti was dismissed for elbowing Amadou Diawara in the 80th minute, and right-back Rossettini made best use of the extra space on the pitch.
One minute into time added on, he rose above Diego Laxalt to head home at a corner. Diawara was subsequently sent off for dissent at the death, but Bologna had done enough.
Palermo 4, Frosinone 1
Under-pressure Palermo boss Davide Ballardini breathed a sigh of relief after his Rosanero beat Frosinone 4-1 at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.
Edoardo Goldaniga got Palermo off to a flying start with his fifth-minute opener and the Sicilians were 2-0 up when Franco Vazquez won a one-on-one with Nicola Leali on 17 minutes. Paolo Sammarco halved the deficit by converting Federico Dionisi's spilled shot in the 25th minute, but Aleksandar Trajkovski made Palermo's points safe with a right-footed finish on the hour mark.
Alberto Gilardino added late gloss with a fourth goal on 86 minutes. A first win in four attempts lifts Palermo to 15th.
