Juve bounce back from derby setback, put title celebrations on ice
MILAN (AP) Runaway Serie A leader Juventus beat Fiorentina 3-2 on Wednesday but its title celebrations were delayed by Lazio's 4-0 victory over a Parma side which is now certain to be relegated.
Fiorentina took the lead through a Gonzalo Rodriguez penalty but goals from Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez turned the match around before Gonzalo missed a second penalty.
Tevez, the league's leading scorer, sealed the result with his 20th Serie A goal of the season before Josip Ilicic netted a late consolation goal.
Juventus remained 14 points clear of Lazio and will clinch a fourth successive title with a draw at Sampdoria on Saturday, as it holds the tiebreaker edge courtesy of a better head-to-head record.
The Serie A giant is also in the hunt for a treble as it faces Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals and Lazio in the Italian Cup final.
''At this point it would be a miracle if we didn't win the title,'' said coach Massimiliano Allegri, who is in his first season in charge of Juventus. ''We'll try to get the point we need at Genoa even if we have lost our last two away games and then we will focus on the Champions League and the Italian Cup.
''Today I'm happy with how the match went and with the lads, who are having an extraordinary year. Today's match is important because it allows us to stay calm in the rest of the matches: when you still need a tiny piece to win there is always something, not anxiety, but the desire to reach your goal.''
Roma won 3-0 at Sassuolo to stay third, but is now mathematically out of the title race.
Parma, which had been deducted seven points for financial irregularities, was relegated after Atalanta drew 2-2 at Cesena. Lying 17th in the standings, just above the relegation zone, Atalanta is 16 points ahead of Parma with five games left to play.
Cesena moved level with Cagliari, which lost 1-0 at Chievo Verona and had two players sent off. The two teams are eight points behind Atalanta.
Elswhere, AC Milan was jeered off the pitch after losing 3-1 at home to Genoa, in a match that saw Milan's Jeremy Menez sent off for two bookings.
Sampdoria also had a player sent off in a 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona. Palermo and Torino drew 2-2.
Fiorentina was the only side to have won at Juventus Stadium since Bayern Munich more than two years ago, having beaten Juventus 2-1 in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinal last month.
It had high hopes of doing so again when Andrea Pirlo tripped Joaquin shortly after the half hour and Gonzalo blasted the penalty into the top right corner. Fiorentina had missed all four of its previous spot kicks this season.
However, Juventus leveled almost immediately when it was awarded a dubious free kick and Llorente headed in Pirlo's cross.
Tevez put Juve in front on the stroke of halftime with a looping header following Patrice Evra's chipped pass.
Fiorentina had a chance to level after Joaquin was tripped for another penalty, this time by Giorgio Chiellini.
However, Gonzalo blasted the spot-kick wide and Juve extended its lead minutes later, when Tevez ran from the center circle onto a great long ball from Claudio Marchisio before firing into the bottom left corner.
Ilicic pulled one back in stoppage time with a wonderful free kick into the top left corner.
In Rome, Lazio went into the match knowing that anything but a win would likely hand Juventus the title and three goals in six first-half minutes put the capital side firmly in control.
Former Parma midfielder Marco Parolo opened the scoring with a fantastic long-range strike in the 10th minute.
Miroslav Klose bundled over from close range minutes later after Stefan Radu's effort from a Felipe Anderson cross was parried and Antonio Candreva sprung the offside trap to score the third shortly after.
Keita Balde Diao completed the scoring nine minutes from time.
In the race for the final Champions League spots, Roma moved provisionally five points clear of Napoli which visits Empoli on Thursday.
Seydou Doumbia got Roma off to the perfect start with his first Serie A goal in the sixth minute, heading in Alessandro Florenzi's cross.
Florenzi got on the scoresheet himself with a stunning solo effort, skipping past two defenders before smashing a fine effort under the bar. Miralem Pjanic sealed the result in the 74th minute, tapping home Gervinho's cross.
