Maicon scored a spectacular goal and Samuel Eto'o added a second in injury time to give Inter Milan a 2-0 win over 10-man Juventus on Friday to provisionally reclaim the Serie A lead.
Maicon downed the ball on his knee and juggled it twice in the air to elude an opponent before volleying it into the net from outside the area in the 75th.
Juventus had been playing for a draw following Mohamed Sissoko's sending off in the first half, but Eto'o added the second in injury time by tapping in Sulley Muntari's low cross.
The win gives Inter 70 points, while AS Roma has 68 ahead of its game against Lazio on Sunday.
Defender Fabio Cannavaro had Juventus' best chance with a header midway through the second half.
"It was a difficult game and we were nervous," Eto'o said. "But the important thing was that we won and now we can look forward to Tuesday's match" against Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals.
"More important than my goal was that all the team worked hard," he said. "All my goal did was calm any nerves."
Juventus had a chance from kickoff when Vincenzo Iaquinta raced into the area, but he shot tamely at Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar. A minute later, Alessandro Del Piero forced Cesar into a diving save with a shot from the edge of the area.
Inter responded by going close with a Sneijder free kick and a thumping drive from Thiago Motta that Gianluigi Buffon pushed away for a corner.
Eto'o was set free by Goran Pandev in the 26th and cut inside Cannavaro, but Sissoko made a last ditch tackle just as the striker was shaping to shoot.
Sissoko was sent off in the 37th when he received a second yellow card after fouling Inter captain Javier Zanetti. Juventus coach Alberto Zaccheroni immediately made his intention to play for a draw clear by bringing off striker Del Piero for defensive midfielder Christian Poulsen.
"I have no idea what the first yellow card was for," Juventus coach Alberto Zaccheroni said. "It wasn't a foul. He got kicked by Motta and pushed over and along with Motta got a yellow card.
"I didn't think that it was a particularly brutal type of game," he said. "The game should have been decided by the players on the pitch. For the first time I'm disappointed. Not just by the sending off, but by the way the game was controlled.
"We prepared for an attacking game, to keep moving and to keep the Inter defenders guessing. We wanted to double up on the flanks and pressure them."
Eto'o squandered a great chance to open the scoring early in the second half. He flicked the ball past Cannavaro, but blasted high over the bar when one-on-one with Buffon.
Milito then went close. Maicon went round Fabio Grosso and crossed to Milito at the near post, but he clipped the ball across the face of goal.
Cannavaro then forced Cesar into a desperate save on the line in the 58th when he was first to Diego's corner.
The defending champion needed something special to break the deadlock and Maicon duly delivered it in the 75th. Juventus failed to clear a corner and the ball fell to Maicon on the edge of the area. The fullback juggled the ball, flicked it away from Juventus striker Amauri and fired a volley past Buffon.
"Other than Maicon's great goal, which I think is the best of the season so far, the thing I enjoyed most tonight was the heart the team showed," Eto'o said. "We have only a few games left and we have to fight and do as much as we can."
Defender Giorgio Chiellini had one last chance for Juventus in the final minutes, but was unable to find the net with his header.
