Gonzalo Higuain scored his 23rd goal in 23 league games for Napoli this season when he finished from close range after fine work from Marek Hamsik in the 24th minute. Jose Callejon added a second when he lobbed the advancing Federico Marchetti after Lorenzo Insigne's exquisite long ball. The match was halted for three minutes in the 68th minuteafter racist abuse aimed at visiting centre back Kalidou Koulibaly, but the referee opted to play on having consulted with players, coaches and officials and the game was completed. Napoli moved on to 53 points, two clear of Juve and eightahead of third-placed Fiorentina who survived a late scare to beat struggling Carpi 2-1 with Mauro Zarate bagging a sensational 93rd-minute winner.
Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa was sent off for the secondconsecutive match. Juve registered their 13th consecutive league win thanks toa moment of magic from Juan Cuadrado, who evaded Armando Izzo with a superb shimmy before his cross deflected past Mattia Perin in the 30th minute. The champions stayed second on 51 points and Massimiliano Allegri's side are only four wins away from equalling InterMilan's record of 17 consecutive Serie A victories set in the 2006-07 season. The win came at a cost, however, with Martin Caceres and Patrice Evra being replaced due to injury and Simone Zaza was sent off in stoppage time.
“Sunday’s 4-0 win at Chievo created a lot of euphoria, but
tonight our feet are back on the ground," Allegri told Mediaset Premium. "This reminded us that there are no easy games.
“I'm not interested in the record," he added. "There are
15 rounds to go and we need a certain number of victories, whether they are in a row or not is irrelevant.” Inter halted a miserable run with a 1-0 home win overChievo, Mauro Icardi ending his recent scoring drought, while Carlos Bacca's fifth goal in his last five games set AC Milan on their way to a 2-0 victory at Palermo. Bottom club Verona won their first league game of theseason when they beat 10-man Atalanta 2-1.
(Reporting by Ed Dove, editing by Ed Osmond)
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