Napoli's small Serie A title hopes all but mathematically died on Saturday as they lost 2-1 at Palermo. And it was worse news for Bari, who were relegated to Serie B with four matches still to play following their 1-0 defeat at home to Sampdoria.
Napoli dropped to third behind champions Inter Milan due to their defeat in Sicily while leaders AC Milan could go eight points clear with just 12 points left on offer if they win at second-bottom Brescia later in the day. Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri admitted his side doesn't have the character to win the scudetto.
"When we get close to an achievement some horses stay calm because they're used to it and others are worn out by nerves," he said. "Those who know football know this. There are those who have been fighting for certain things for years and know how to manage their emotions.
"We're very young, I know my team's strengths and weaknesses, we need to stay serene and not start making lists." Napoli were handed a gift after just two minutes when Mattia Cassani inexplicably handled the ball in the box. Edinson Cavani made no mistake from the spot, unlike last week against Udinese, as he scored his 26th Serie A goal of the season to move level with Udinese's Antonio Di Natale at the top of the league scoring charts.
But Palermo, buoyed by their Italian Cup draw away to Milan in midweek, hit back and Cassani made amends by crossing for Federico Balzaretti to thrash home a crisp finish from the left. And the hosts took the lead on the stroke of half-time in bizarre and controversial fashion. Giulio Migliaccio burst into the box past two Napoli players only to flop to the ground under apparent contact from Christian Maggio.
Antonio Nocerino crashed home the loose ball but the referee had already signalled a penalty. It made no difference, though, as Cesare Bovo put the Sicilians in front from 12 yards. Inter's faint title hopes may have all but ended in last week's defeat at Parma but Leonardo's team proved in the 2-1 home win over Lazio that they're still going to fight to the end.
"Nothing is over in the league, having seen the results, anything can happen," said the eternally optimistic Inter coach Leonardo. Inter looked headed for a disastrous afternoon when goalkeeper Julio Cesar brought down Mauro Zarate for a penalty midway through the first half.
Although Andrea Ranocchia had got back onto the line, the referee dismissed the Brazilian shot-stopper and Zarate added injury to insult by slotting home from the spot. With a goal and man advantage, Lazio looked set to leapfrog Inter into third place courtesy of a better head-to-head record, but instead the champions showed their mettle.
Wesley Sneijder curled home a sumptuous free-kick five minutes before the break and then after half-time Samuel Eto'o pounced on a slip by Giuseppe Biava to round Fernando Muslera in the Lazio goal and shoot home. The referee then evened up the numbers by showing a straight red card to Lazio captain Stefano Mauri for what seemed a minor foul on Inter's Japanese full-back Yuto Nagatomo. Udinese failed to take advantage of Lazio's slip as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Parma.
The visitors opened the scoring on 13 minutes through Amauri's header but Udinese's hopes of hitting back suffered a blow when Gokhan Inler was sent-off midway through the first period. Amauri added a second in the final minute leaving Udinese a point behind Lazio, who hold the final Champions League qualifying place.
It also opened the way for sixth-placed Roma to close in to four points behind their city rivals following their 1-0 defeat of Chievo. Bari, who have looked doomed for months, needed to win to stand any chance of staying up but were relegated thanks to Nicola Pozzi's second half penalty, which moved Samp out of the bottom three above Lecce on a better head-to-head record.