Second-place Roma draws again; Inter Milan rolls Atalanta

ROME (AP) — Second-place Roma was held 0-0 by last-place Parma on Sunday for a humiliating fifth consecutive draw at home in Serie A.

Parma was recently sold for the second time this season and entered in complete disarray on a five-match losing streak as players await unpaid wages.

Still, Roma struggled to impose itself and didn't threaten for long stretches.

Roma's best chances came during a frantic assault on Parma's goal in the final minutes, with Ashley Cole hitting the post on one opportunity and missing high on another, even better chance.

Aftwerward, fans at the Stadio Olimpico whistled their squad off the pitch.

How is it, the fans must be thinking, that a squad that began the season in the Champions League and once appeared poised to end Juventus' run of three straight A titles, can't even win at home anymore?

"We're asking ourselves the same question," Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan said. "We're just not able to do certain things. If you can't put the ball in the net it's difficult to win. ... (The fans) are disappointed and so are we."

Roma moved within six points of Serie A Juventus, which was visiting relegation-threatened Cesena later with a chance to stretch its lead to nine points.

Earlier, struggling AC Milan was fortunate to come away with a 1-1 draw at home with Empoli, ending with nine men.

The Rossoneri then dropped back into the second half of the table after city rival Inter Milan won 4-1 at 10-man Atalanta with Fredy Guarin scoring twice.

Elsewhere, Lazio won 1-0 at Udinese with 23rd-minute penalty from Antonio Candreva; Genoa beat Hellas Verona 5-2; and Torino drew 1-1 with Cagliari.

At the San Siro, former Roma forward Mattia Destro scored his first goal with Milan in the 40th but veteran Massimo Maccarone equalized in the 68th.

Milan goalkeeper Diego Lopez was shown a red card for using his hand to deflect a shot outside the area in the 83rd and Rossoneri defender Gabriel Paletta limped off five minutes later with an apparent muscle problem after all three substitutions were used.

Also, Milan defender Alex was brought to a local hospital with a broken nose following a collision eight minutes in.

Milan, which has won only one of its last seven matches, is 11th — a massive 23 points behind Juventus.

Empoli, which was in Serie B last season, moved five points clear of the drop zone.

"I'm trying to keep the lads calm but it's tough to accept a run like this. It takes patience," said FilippoInzaghi, Milan's first-year coach. "We've been a bit unlucky lately."

Destro scored from close-range by redirecting a cross from Giacomo Bonaventura and Maccarone found the target with a header after being left unmarked by Paletta, another new Milan player.

"We shouldn't allow a goal like the one Maccarone scored," Inzaghi said. "We need to mark man-to-man inside the area."

Empoli completed 170 more passes than Milan, according to Opta sports data.

It was a different story for Inter, which took control of a regional derby when Guarin earned a penalty that Zherdan Shaqiri converted two minutes in for his first goal since transferring from Bayern Munich last month.

Inter was fortunate when Juan Jesus was shown only a yellow card for swiping an opposing player in the head in the 19th and then Maxi Moralez equalized in the 28th with a shot from the center of the area.

Inter regained control when Guarin scored with a bouncing shot from the edge of the area in the 37th and Atalanta's Yohan Benalouane was shown a second yellow in the 52nd.

Guarin scored another 11 minutes later with a curving shot from beyond the area, and Rodrigo Palacio also found the target for the visitors when a shot was deflected off his shin in the 73rd.

In Genoa, the hosts went ahead with an own goal from Alessandro Agostini 10 minutes in then got two goals from former Milan forward M'Baye Niang, who hadn't yet scored in Serie A.

Former Italy forward Luca Toni netted twice for Verona but Andrea Bertolacci and Diego Belotti added goals for Genoa.

In Turin, Cagliari's Godfred Donsah and Torino's Omar El Kaddouri traded goals a minute apart midway through the first half as Cagliari coach Gianfranco Zola went up against his mentor, Giampiero Ventura.