Juventus replaces Milan at the top of Serie A

SaturdayCesena 0-0 BolognaChievo 3-2 CataniaMilan 1-2 FiorentinaNovara 1-1 GenoaCagliari 2-2 InterUdinese 3-1 ParmaLecce 4-2 AS RomaAtalanta 1-2 SienaPalermo 0-2 JuventusLazio 3-1 NapoliROME Surging Juventus replaced AC Milan at the top of Serie A with a 2-0 win at Palermo on Saturday after the defending champion concluded a difficult week with a 2-1 loss at home to Fiorentina.Juventus moved one point ahead of Milan and the Turin club also holds the tiebreaker with a win and a draw in their head-to-heads.“Now we don’t have to rely on anything from anyone else,” Juventus manager Antonio Conte said. “There are seven matches to go and we’ve got a tougher schedule than Milan, but something has changed in the hierarchy.”Playing after Milan had already lost, Juventus dominated but couldn’t find the target until Leonardo Bonucci headed in from a corner in the 56th minute. Fabio Quagliarella doubled the lead in the 69th with a shot from the top of the area after collecting a short pass from Alessandro Matri.Having also reached the Italian Cup final, Juventus stretched its unbeaten streak in all competitions to 36 matches, with its last loss coming against Parma at the end of last season.The Bianconeri have looked especially sharp in their last four matches—all victories—outscoring the competition 12-0. It’s quite a turnaround for a team that finished seventh in the past two seasons.“Now we’re a squad that has gained knowledge and self-confidence,” said Conte, who will complete his first season in charge at Juve. “We’re playing good offensive football and we’re risking little.”Milan allowed a 90th-minute goal by Fiorentina striker Amauri to extend its struggles after being eliminated from Europe by Barcelona four days ago.Milan took the lead with a penalty from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 31st at the San Siro but Stevan Jovetic equalized in the 47th after taking advantage of a Milan defensive lapse.Amauri then finished off an exchange with Jovetic for his first goal since transferring from Juventus in January.It was the fourth consecutive match in all competitions without a win for Milan, which drew 1-1 with Catania last weekend between a draw and a loss in its two-leg Champions League fixture with Barcelona.All 10 Italian league matches were on Saturday due to the Easter holiday.