Juve hold Inter

AFP, MILAN: High-flying Fiorentina stayed top of Serie A after Inter Milan spurned the chance to take over after a pulsating but scoreless draw at home to Juventus on Sunday.
Fiorentina have emerged as contenders for a top finish this season thanks to a series of fine performances under new coach Paulo Sousa, including a 4-1 humiliation of Inter three weeks ago.
But La Viola suffered only their second defeat of the campaign earlier Sunday when Lorenzo Insigne and Gonazalo Higuain hit their sixth league goals of the season respectively to secure a 2-1 win at the San Paolo stadium, where Nikola Kalinic had levelled two minutes before Higuain’s 75th minute strike.
The pain of that defeat was soothed by the fact Fiorentina will stay top for another week after Inter failed to break down a stubborn Juve side in the ‘Derby d’Italia’.
A total of 79,154 spectators turned out to watch the 165th edition at Inter’s shared ground, producing a new all-time gate receipt of 3,740,051 euros.
But despite dominating a one-sided opening half that notably saw Marcelo Brozovic fire off the woodwork, Roberto Mancini’s men failed in their quest to beat Juve at the San Siro for the first time since 2010, when Jose Mourinho led the Nerazzuri to an unprecedented treble of league, Cup and Champions League.
In the end, Mancini could have few complaints, especially seeing the woodwork save Inter when Sami Khedira struck it in the second half.
Inter remain third just behind Roma on 17 points, with Napoli, Sassuolo and Lazio all two points further back.
Juventus now have nine points from eight games and sit nine points adrift of Fiorentina.
Three days before hosting Borussia Moenchengladbach, looking to claim their third consecutive win in the group stages of the Champions League, Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri was buoyed with a performance that he believes has reminded Juve’s rivals they are not finished yet.
Napoli welcomed Fiorentina to the San Paolo looking to maintain a recent purple patch that has seen Mauricio Sarri’s side remain unbeaten in their last six outings.
Elsewhere, Sampdoria’s promising start came to a shuddering halt with a 2-0 defeat at Frosinone, while Lazio were stunned 2-1 away to Sassuolo.
Atalanta, meanwhile, romped to 3-0 win over Carpi in Bergamo that came complete with a stunning corner kick goal from Alejandro Gomez.

Juve hold Inter

AFP, MILAN: High-flying Fiorentina stayed top of Serie A after Inter Milan spurned the chance to take over after a pulsating but scoreless draw at home to Juventus on Sunday. Fiorentina have emerged as contenders for a top finish this season thanks to a series of fine performances under new coach Paulo Sousa, including a 4-1 humiliation of Inter three weeks ago. But La Viola suffered only their second defeat of the campaign earlier Sunday when Lorenzo Insigne and Gonazalo Higuain hit their sixth league goals of the season respectively to secure a 2-1 win at the San Paolo stadium, where Nikola Kalinic had levelled two minutes before Higuains 75th minute strike. The pain of that defeat was soothed by the fact Fiorentina will stay top for another week after Inter failed to break down a stubborn Juve side in the Derby dItalia. A total of 79,154 spectators turned out to watch the 165th edition at Inters shared ground, producing a new all-time gate receipt of 3,740,051 euros. But despite dominating a one-sided opening half that notably saw Marcelo Brozovic fire off the woodwork, Roberto Mancinis men failed in their quest to beat Juve at the San Siro for the first time since 2010, when Jose Mourinho led the Nerazzuri to an unprecedented treble of league, Cup and Champions League. In the end, Mancini could have few complaints, especially seeing the woodwork save Inter when Sami Khedira struck it in the second half. Inter remain third just behind Roma on 17 points, with Napoli, Sassuolo and Lazio all two points further back. Juventus now have nine points from eight games and sit nine points adrift of Fiorentina. Three days before hosting Borussia Moenchengladbach, looking to claim their third consecutive win in the group stages of the Champions League, Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri was buoyed with a performance that he believes has reminded Juves rivals they are not finished yet. Napoli welcomed Fiorentina to the San Paolo looking to maintain a recent purple patch that has seen Mauricio Sarris side remain unbeaten in their last six outings. Elsewhere, Sampdorias promising start came to a shuddering halt with a 2-0 defeat at Frosinone, while Lazio were stunned 2-1 away to Sassuolo. Atalanta, meanwhile, romped to 3-0 win over Carpi in Bergamo that came complete with a stunning corner kick goal from Alejandro Gomez.