MILAN (AP) - Carlos Tevez scored twice to move top of the Serie A scoring charts and help league leader Juventus beat 10-man Parma 2-1 for a record 15th home win on Wednesday.
Tevez has now scored 18 league goals in his first season at Juventus following his move from Manchester City.
“Better than this is impossible, but the important thing is that the team won,” Tevez said
Cristian Molinaro reduced the deficit but Parma striker Amauri was sent off three minutes later.
Despite the numerical disadvantage Parma almost snatched a draw but Molinaro was denied by a goal-line clearance and the visitors had strong penalty appeals turned down.
“I don’t know if it was a penalty, those who understand football know how to judge it,” Parma coach Roberto Donadoni said. “I think sometimes you have to take into account players’ tricks, but you only have a matter of seconds to do that on the pitch.”
Juventus restored its 14-point advantage over Roma, which beat Torino 2-1 on Tuesday and has played a game less than its rivals.
Napoli moved six points behind Roma with a 4-2 win at Catania and boosted its chances of securing the final Champions League spot as Fiorentina lost 2-0 at home to AC Milan.
Mario Balotelli set up one goal and scored the other to help under-fire boss Clarence Seedorf, who was reportedly on the verge of the sack before last weekend’s draw at Lazio.
“And some people say I won’t even be going to the World Cup,” Balotelli said. “This victory didn’t save anyone, because there wasn’t anyone to save. The dressing room is united. Of course, we’re upset because we won’t get into the Champions League and maybe not into the Europa League either, but not disunited.”
Atalanta maintained its push for a Europa League spot as it beat Livorno 2-0 and leapfrogged Lazio into seventh after the capital side lost 2-0 at Genoa.
Also, it was: Chievo Verona 3, Bologna 0; Sassuolo 1, Sampdoria 2; and Cagliari 1, Hellas Verona 0.
Juventus had won all 14 of its home league matches this season, while Parma was on a club record unbeaten run of 17 matches.
Tevez broke the deadlock in the 25th minute with a powerful run down the right, holding off Gabriel Paletta before slotting a low effort into the near side of the net.
It was his 17th goal of the season and an immediate response to Ciro Immobile after the Torino striker reached that tally against Roma.
And the Argentina forward moved solo atop the scoring charts seven minutes later. Tevez found Arturo Vidal on the right and then raced into the area to tap home after the Chilean international’s cross-shot was parried by Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.
Parma got back into the match shortly after the hour mark with a fantastic volley from Molinaro on the edge of the area but Amauri was harshly adjudged to have elbowed Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini shortly afterward.
Molinaro almost leveled near the end but Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon parried his effort and Leonardo Bonucci cleared in a goalmouth scramble. Parma appealed heavily for a penalty for a foul on Marco Parolo but to no avail.
In Sicily, Napoli gave Catania an early warning as it had three good opportunities in the opening five minutes.
And it took the lead in the 16th minute. Marek Hamsik found Jose Maria Callejon on the right and he crossed for Duvan Zapata to tap in for his first league goal.
Callejon doubled the visitors’ advantage before Henrique scored his first Napoli goal with a strike from the tightest of angles.
Zapata all but sealed the match on the stroke of halftime although Catania attempted a comeback in the second period as defenders Fabian Monzon and Norbert Gyomber also scored their debut league goals.
Fiorentina forward Alessandro Matri, who is on loan from Milan missed a couple of early chances against his old team and it was the under-fire visitors which took a surprise lead in the 23rd minute.
Balotelli had been dropped for the weekend draw against Lazio but he returned to the starting lineup and fired in a free kick which was parried by Neto but straight to Philippe Mexes, who headed in.
Balotelli doubled Milan’s advantage with another free kick into the top right corner from 20 yards in the 64th minute.
Fifth-place Inter Milan could close the gap on Fiorentina to just one point with victory at home to Udinese on Thursday.
Parma is currently level on points with Inter, with Atalanta four points below the final Europa League spot following a club record fifth consecutive win.
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