Serie A: Juventus continues surge with eighth straight league win
ROME (AP) — Four-time defending champion Juventus comfortably swept aside last-place Hellas Verona 3-0 Wednesday for its eighth straight win in Serie A.
Paulo Dybala, Leonardo Bonucci and Simone Zaza scored to move Juventus provisionally level with second-place Inter Milan, which was visiting Empoli later.
Meanwhile, Josip Ilicic scored twice as Fiorentina won 3-1 at Palermo to move two points clear of Inter.
Also, Roma wasted a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw at Chievo Verona to remain fifth, two points behind Napoli, which was hosting Torino later.
With Mario Balotelli still recovering from pelvis surgery, AC Milan was beaten 1-0 at home by Bologna, which got a late winner from Emanuele Giaccherini.
Elsewhere, it was: Lazio 0, Carpi 0; Sassuolo 2, Frosinone 2; and Udinese 2, Atalanta 1.
In Turin, Dybala put Juventus in front with a curling free kick eight minutes in and Bonucci doubled the lead before halftime by redirecting a free kick from Dybala with a header.
Also in the first half, Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon tipped wide a dangerous acrobatic shot from Giampaolo Pazzini.
Zaza sealed it for Juventus after being set up by Paul Pogba eight minutes from the end.
After starting the season by winning only three of its opening 10 matches, Juventus now appears on course to win its fifth consecutive title.
In Sicily, Ilicic was unstoppable against his former club. The Slovenia international put Fiorentina ahead in the 13th after dribbling through a defender's legs and then scored again with an expert control and precise shot from beyond the area.
Former Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino pulled one back for Palermo with a header in the 77th but Jakub Blaszczykowski restored Fiorentina's two-goal lead in added time.
In Verona, Roma went ahead seven minutes in when 18-year-old Nigerian Sadiq Umar scored his second goal in two matches after being set up by Gervinho.
Umar also hit the post before Alessandro Florenzi doubled Roma's lead in the 37th, intercepting a pass near midfield before crusing in to score.
But Alberto Paloschi pulled one back for Chievo just before the break amid confusion in front of Roma's goal and Dario Dainelli redirected a corner from close range to equalize shortly before the hour mark.
Iago Falque restored Roma's lead with a long, low and angled shot in the 81st but Simone Pepe equalized again for Chievo in the 85th with a free kick that was validated with goal-line technology.
At the San Siro, Milan created numerous chances but couldn't quite find the target. Giaccherini's winner eight minutes from the end came with from within the area.
Milan fans jeered Keisuke Honda—who reportedly criticized the Rossoneri's market moves in an interview with Japanese media—when the midfielder was replaced by Alessio Cerci midway through the second half.
Earlier, Udinese beat Atalanta with first-half goals from Cyril Thereau and Stipe Perica to celebrate the opening of its redesigned Stadio Friuli.
