Antonio Cassano saved leaders AC Milan's blushes with a late equaliser in a 1-1 home draw against bottom side Bari while a Francesco Totti double saw Roma past nine-man Lazio in a busy Serie A programme on Sunday that also featured away wins for Udinese and Napoli.
Ten-man AC Milan rallied for a draw with last-place Bari after Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off for punching an opponent in the stomach.
Second-half substitute Antonio Cassano scored in the 82nd minute for the Serie A leaders following a superb cross from Luca Antonini at the San Siro.
Hungary forward Gergely Rudolf had put Bari ahead in the 39th, finishing off a perfectly executed set piece.
Ibrahimovic was given a straight red card for hitting Marco Rossi in the 73rd after the defender beat him to a header.
Milan restored its five-point lead over Inter Milan after its city rival was held to a 1-1 draw at Brescia on Friday.
Elsewhere, Antonio Di Natale raised his league-best scoring total to 24 goals as Udinese won 4-0 at Cagliari to join Napoli in third place, nine points behind Milan.
Also, Roma captain Francesco Totti scored twice in a 2-0 derby win over Lazio, Roma's fifth consecutive win over its city rivals.
Roma midfielder David Pizarro hit the crossbar five minutes in at the Stadio Olimpico. Lazio's Cristian Ledesma and Sergio Floccari both missed decent chances before Lazio goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was unable to handle Totti's free kick as Lazio's wall fell apart in the 70th.
Totti then added a penalty in added time, giving him 199 goals in his Serie A career and securing a victory that lifts Roma's spirits after getting eliminated from the Champions League by Shakhtar Donetsk.
Lazio defender Stefan Radu was sent off for headbutting Roma midfielder Fabio Simplicio in the 88th. Simplicio was then taken down inside the area in the 90th to set up Totti's penalty and Ledesma was sent off for protesting, leaving Lazio with nine men.
In other matches on a rainy day up and down the peninsula, Catania beat Sampdoria 1-0, Chievo lost to Fiorentina 1-0, Genoa beat Palermo 1-0, and Lecce lost to Bologna 1-0.