MILAN (AP) — With three rounds remaining, the race for the fourth Champions League qualifying spot from Serie A became even tighter on Sunday.
Juventus, Roma and Lazio all have 63 points, while Bologna is only a point behind them and Fiorentina three points further back.
Napoli leads Serie A with 77 points, three ahead of second-placed Inter Milan. Atalanta is third with 68 points.
Juventus currently occupies fourth spot but only because of a slightly better goal difference than Roma. Head-to-head is the first tiebreaker when teams are level in Serie A but Juventus and Roma played out two draws, while the Bianconeri visit Lazio next Saturday.
Roma has the better head-to-head record with Lazio.
Bologna frustrates Juventus
Roma and Lazio caught up with Juventus on Sunday after Igor Tudor’s side was held 1-1 at Bologna.
The hosts got off to a miserable start when a series of mistakes allowed Juventus to take the lead in the ninth minute.
Andrea Cambiaso was given too much space to cut inside from the right and he spread the ball to Khéphren Thuram for a shot that squirmed under the body of Bologna goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski, who should have done better.
Juventus had two goals disallowed for offside before Bologna leveled nine minutes into the second half when Remo Freuler’s effort from close range was accidentally deflected in by Renato Veiga.
Capital teams win
Claudio Ranieri’s Roma beat Fiorentina 1-0.
Just one point separated the two sides heading into the match but Artem Dovbyk’s diving header deep in first-half stoppage time was enough to keep Roma level with its capital rival Lazio, which won by the same scoreline at relegation-threatened Empoli.
Lazio’s Boulaye Dia scored the only goal after just 54 seconds and both teams ended the match with 10 men.
Empoli forward Lorenzo Colombo was sent off shortly before halftime after two bookings in the space of four minutes and Lazio defender Elseid Hysaj was dismissed in the 76th minute following a second yellow card.
Empoli remained two points from safety.
Atalanta consolidates third, Monza relegated
Charles De Ketelaere found the back of the net in the league for the first time in 2025 with a first-half double to help set Atalanta on its way to a 4-0 win at Monza.
Third-placed Atalanta moved five points clear of the glut of teams chasing fourth spot.
Monza, which had looked doomed for months, was mathematically relegated as the result left it 12 points from safety.
De Ketelaere hadn’t scored in Serie A since December — a run of 16 matches — but ended his drought in fine fashion in the 12th minute, controlling a ball from Mateo Retegui before beating two men and drilling into the near bottom corner.
Monza showed why it is getting relegated 11 minutes later. Gaetano Castrovilli managed to intercept Retegui’s return pass towards Ademola Lookman but the Monza midfielder and teammate Pedro Pereira both just looked at the ball, allowing De Ketelaere to pounce and prod it into the bottom left corner.
Atalanta extended its lead immediately after the break when Retegui headed on a long ball over the top and Lookman beat Stefan Lekovic, who had only just come on, and raced into the area to fire past Semuel Pizzignacco.
Substitute Marco Brescianini capped a dominant Atalanta performance with a fourth, two minutes from time.
Pisa promoted
Pisa was promoted to Serie A for the first time in 34 years despite losing 1-0 at Bari.
Third-placed Spezia also lost, guaranteeing Pisa second spot in Serie B and automatic promotion to the top flight alongside second division champion Sassuolo.
Pisa is coached by World Cup-winning forward Filippo Inzaghi, the older brother of Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Daniella Matar, The Associated Press
