Jose Mourinho’s Inter threw away a two-goal lead to draw with Palermo, but their slip-up went unpunished.
Inter powered into a 2-0 half-time lead through Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (pen), but they were pegged back by two goals in three minutes from Edinson Cavani and Cesare Bovo.
Fortunately for Mourinho’s men, second-placed Juventus failed to pounce on the slip-up, losing 3-2 to Genoa.
Two goals from Thiago Motta and an 89th minute striker from Raffaele Palladino did the damage, cancelling out strikes from Alessandro Del Piero and Vicenzo Iaquinta for The Old Lady.
Inter are 10 points clear at the top of Serie A.
Neighbours Milan are now 12 points off the pace after they beat Chievo 1-0. Clarence Seedorf grabbed the game’s only goal, a delightful team effort, but potential Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti was sent to the stands.
Just outside of the Champions League spots, where Genoa currently sit fourth, Fiorentina beat Cagliari 2-1 on Saturday.
Manuel Pasqual and Juan Vargas grabbed the crucial goals, Vargas’ effort coming in the 85th minute – just 60 seconds before Daniele Ragatzu pulled one back for Cagliari, who had Michele Canini and Alessandro Agostini both sent off.
At the bottom, 19th-placed Lecce fell three points adrift of safety after a 3-1 home defeat to Sampdoria.
An Antonio Cassano brace made the difference, adding to Giampaolo Pazzini’s opener to render Fabio Caserta’ strike mere consolation. Guillermo Giacomazzi saw red for the hosts.
Bologna complete the bottom three (along with Reggina) after they were smashed 4-1 at home by Siena.
Emanuele Calaio made sure Siena flew out of the blocks on six minutes, before Daniele Portanova doubled that lead five minutes later. Massimo Marazzina’s strike threatened a comeback but Abdelkader Ghezzal ended the match as a contest before Houssine Kharja rubbed salt into the wounds.
That result allowed Torino to climb to safety as they scored a vital 2-1 victory over Catania.
There were three goals in the last 10 minutes as Rolando Bianchi’s 82nd-minute strike was cancelled out by Jorge Martinez, only for Cesare Natali to score a last-minute winner as Lorenzo Stovini saw red for Catania.
Game of the day came from The Stadio Olimpico, where Lazio beat Roma 4-2.
Goran Pandev and Mauro Zarate had Lazio 2-0 up inside five minutes, only for Phillipe Mexes to half the deficit on 10.
Stephen Lichtsteiner restored the two-goal advantage just before the hour, sparking a flurry of red cards as Matuzalem, Christian Panucci and Mexes all got their marching orders.
Daniele De Rossi threatened an unlikely comeback with five minutes remaining for Roma, but Aleksandar Kolarov made things safe at the death.
Elsewhere, Napoli and Atalanta battled to a 0-0 draw.