Juventus suffer shock defeat

Juventus missed the chance to reclaim an eight-point lead at the top of Serie A after suffering a shock 2-1 home defeat to 10-man Sampdoria on Sunday.

Having finished 2012 with a record haul of 94 points, Juve boss Antonio Conte was backing a concerted bid to outstrip that achievement this year, and Sebastian Giovinco's early penalty put his side on the right path.

Juve's task looked easier when Gaetano Berardi saw red for two first-half bookings but the numerical advantage did little to help the hosts, as Mauro Icardi levelled the scores shortly after the break.

Icardi completed his brace with what proved to be the winner, his sensational strike rattling the Bianconeri to condemn them to a second home defeat of the season, also earning Delio Rossi a first victory as Samp boss.

And with second-placed Lazio beating Cagliari on Saturday night, Juventus now lead the standings by just five points ahead of a daunting trip to Parma.

Elsewhere, a second-half salvo earned Udinese all three points with a 3-0 win over the 10 men of Inter Milan at the Stadio Friuli.

Antonio Di Natale was on target twice with Luis Muriel also scoring for Francesco Guidolin's side, who were aided by a red card for Juan Jesus in the 65th minute.

The win lifts Udinese up to eighth in the table, level on points with AC Milan while Inter remain in fourth.

AC Milan further reduced the gap on the top six thanks to a 2-1 win over Siena at the Stadio San Siro.

Second-half goals from Bojan Krkic and Giampaolo Pazzini earned the Rossoneri the points with Michele Paolucci scoring a late consolation for the Tuscans, who remain rooted to the foot of the table, six points adrift of safety.

Pescara eased their relegation worries with a stunning 2-0 upset of Champions League hopefuls Fiorentina in Florence.

Pescara were indebted to goalkeeper Mattia Perin as they survived a first-half onslaught before snatching victory through second-half goals from Jonathas and Mervan Celik.

A last-gasp goal from substitute Amauri condemned his former club Palermo to a 2-1 defeat at Parma, as the Gialloblu claimed a third consecutive victory in Serie A.

Parma survived their visitors' early enthusiasm to snatch the lead through Ishak Belfodil midway through the second half but Igor Budan pegged his former employers back with an equalising header.

There were half-chances for Gian Piero Gasperini's men to edge a first win in Parma since their promotion in 2004, but Brazilian striker Amauri ensured they went home empty-handed with a confident finish three minutes into stoppage-time.

Marco Borriello struck a second-half brace to help Genoa down fellow strugglers Bologna 2-0 and claim only their fourth Serie A win of the season.

Borriello opened the scoring in the 57th minute after linking up well with Ciro Immobile before the much-travelled striker sealed the points with a fine finish in the 73rd minute.

The victory lifts Genoa out of the relegation zone and they are now just one spot and one point below 16th-placed Bologna, whose miserable afternoon was made complete when they saw midfielder Tiberio Guarente sent off in stoppage time.

Isaac Cofie's first goal for Chievo settled a narrow 1-0 victory over Atalanta that keeps the Gialloblu in the hunt for a top-half finish.

The Flying Donkeys were denied an historic fourth straight win by Torino in the last game of 2012, but Ghana international Cofie ensured a fourth win from five outings with his powerful strike shortly before half-time.

Atalanta, meanwhile, slip below their hosts and into 12th place after suffering their fifth defeat from seven games, despite the best efforts of strikers Giuseppe De Luca and German Denis on the counter-attack.

On Saturday Lazio boosted their title hopes with a 2-1 home win over struggling Cagliari.

It took a late penalty from Alvaro Candreva to decide the outcome, with Cagliari having two men sent off after the spot-kick was awarded.

Goalkeeper Michael Agazzi was dismissed first, receiving his second yellow card of the game for the foul on Miroslav Klose that resulted in the penalty, and for protesting excessively midfielder Andrea Cossu was also ordered off.

Cagliari had gone ahead after 62 minutes when Marco Sau struck, but Abdoulay Konko levelled 10 minutes from the end and in the 86th minute Candreva secured all three points for second-placed Lazio.

Catania and Torino shared a tame goalless draw at the Stadio Massimino in the first Serie A game of 2013.

The Sicilians held on to a point, despite playing nearly the full game with only 10 men following an early red card for Francesco Lodi.

The home side missed a penalty too, but there was little else to write home about in a game which Catania coach Rolando Maran and president Antonino Pulvirenti had to follow from the mouth of the tunnel after being ejected from the technical area.