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Juventus and Higuaín widen the chasm of domestic domination in Italy | Paolo Bandini

The gap between the champions and chasing pack in Serie A looks as wide as it has ever done after Gonzalo Higuaín bulldozed Juve to a win over RomaThe numbers alone tell a story. Following a 1-0 victory over Roma, Juventus sit seven points clear at the top of Serie A. The Bianconeri have won 25 consecutive home matches, equaling a club record, and collected 100 points in this calendar year. They have been crowned as Serie A’s ‘winter champions’ – the unofficial title given to the team that leads the table at the season’s midway stage – with two games to spare.And yet, an even more vivid picture of their domestic domination had been painted on the pitch at...

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Edin Dzeko settled, thriving and a key part of Roma’s tilt at Juventus | Sachin Nakrani

The striker did not quite live up to the hype at Manchester City but is in prime form and helping Roma in their pursuit of a first Serie A title since 2001Edin Dzeko never did turn into Marco van Basten at Manchester City. That is what some predicted would happen when he joined from Wolfsburg for £27m in January 2011 having scored 66 goals in 111 appearances for the German club. Aged 24, he appeared to have the strength, speed and skill to become a world-class centre-forward. Van Basten’s image adorned Dzeko’s bedroom walls growing up in Sarajevo and, in the Bosnian’s own words, he was “very flattered” to be seen as a modern-day version of the Dutch legend upon...

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Radja Nainggolan strikes to give Roma the edge as Juventus's closest challengers

It was billed as the battle between Juve’s nearest rivals and while Roma defeated Milan, Saturday’s trip to Turin will be a truer test of their credentialsThumbing through the newspaper previews for Roma’s match against Milan, one might have come away with the impression that Italy was preparing not for a football match but rather an assault on King’s Landing. Like the put-upon peasants in Game of Thrones, columnists yearned for a less oppressive form of leadership. It was time, as La Repubblica put it, for the “One, True, Anti-Juve” to emerge.In the standings, there was nothing to choose between these two pretenders to the Serie A throne. Joint second on 32 points, they each trailed Juventus by seven. But...

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Not such a beautiful game: Lazio v Roma derby descends into disrepute | Paolo Bandini

There was not much beautiful to hold on to in any sense, although the Giallorossi will be content to have extended the legacy of the departed Rudi García“You do not play a derby, you win it.” When Rudi García pronounced those words at the start of his first season as Roma manager, few could have imagined how prophetic they would turn out to be. The Giallorossi had lost to Lazio in the final of the Coppa Italia a few short months earlier. They have not done so again since. Related: Kevin Strootman strikes as Roma see off Lazio in heated Rome derby Related: Sport picture of the day: watching the Rome derby Continue reading...

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Edin Dzeko's renaissance keeps Roma on pace at top of Serie A | Paolo Bandini

On a night when most Serie A watchers were left contemplating acts of God, Roma supporters saw the restoration of their striker’s sight continueThere are no instructions in Fifa’s Laws of the Game for what to do when the ground starts to shift beneath your feet. The second of Wednesday night’s earthquakes in central Italy struck at 9.18pm, at a time when nine Serie A matches were in progress, and was felt inside several football grounds.Only one fixture – Pescara-Atalanta – was suspended as a result, and even then only briefly. Not all fans were pleased by referee Marco Guida’s decision to resume play after a two-minute pause, and a number abandoned the stadium. Although the tremors felt at the...

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