Ten-man Internazionale were held to a 1-1 draw at Genoa on Wednesday but still extended their lead at the top of Serie A to seven points on a night when all of the top five failed to win.
David Suazo put the Nerazzurri ahead in the 11th minute, but they were reduced to 10 men when Pele was sent off for a second yellow card five minutes before the interval.
Inter had to defend for the entire second half as Genoa threw everything at Julio Cesar's goal, and they were rewarded with a goal five minutes from time from striker Marco Borriello.
It turned out to be a point gained for Inter rather than two lost as Valon Behrami struck deep in stoppage time to hand Lazio a 3-2 victory over Roma in the Eternal City derby.
With the game looking to be heading for a draw, Stefano Mauri fed Behrami inside the area and he struck the ball past goalkeeper Alexander Doni to seal the win.
Rodrigo Taddei opened the scoring for Roma just after the half-hour mark before Goran Pandev equalised shortly before half-time.
Tommaso Rocchi put Lazio in front in the 59th minute from the penalty spot before Simone Perrotta levelled four minutes later.
Passions always run high during this fixture, but this game had an extra level of emotion with both clubs remembering Gabriele Sandri, the Lazio fan who was shot and killed by a police officer earlier this season.
Roma captain Francesco Totti laid flowers in front of the Lazio fans prior to the match by way of a tribute to Sandri.
Relegation-threatened Empoli held Juventus to a goalless draw at the Castellani stadium to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat.
Ezequiel Lavezzi's first-half double proved enough for Napoli to claim a 2-0 victory against fourth-placed Fiorentina.
The Viola were 2-0 down within 31 minutes, Lavezzi the man to claim both.
And though Fiorentina created a number of second-half chances - the best of them a Mutu header which hit the bar - Napoli had just as many opportunities to extend their lead.
AC Milan's frustrations at the San Siro continued as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat against fellow European hopefuls Sampdoria.
Two goals in the opening 25 minutes by Cristian Maggio and Gennaro Delvecchio put Samp in the driving seat, and although Milan pulled one back through Alberto Paloschi inside the final 20 minutes, Carlo Ancelotti's men failed to force an equaliser.
Milan might have suspected they were in for a tough night when they lost talismanic midfielder Kaka after just nine minutes, the Brazilian suffering a recurrence of his recent back injury.
Samp's night also ended on a sour note when Stefano Lucchini saw red for picking up a second booking at the death.
Udinese closed to within six points of the Champions League places with a 1-0 win at Torino, courtesy of Simone Pepe's goal.
Bottom club Cagliari claimed a welcome 1-0 win over 10-man Atalanta thanks to Robert Acquafresca's penalty - Morris Carrozzieri was sent off for the visitors.
Elsewhere, Catania and Siena played out a goalless draw, Livorno and Reggina drew 1-1 and Parma claimed a 2-1 win over Palermo.
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