Serie A leaders Juventus won 2-0 away to AC Milan to move 11 points clear of nearest challengers Roma.
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Milan created a raft of chances but were unable to take any, and they were made to pay by Fernando Llorente's goal just before half-time and Carlos Tevez's superb second-half strike.
Tevez and Stephan Lichtsteiner combined on the right and the latter crossed low into the six-yard box where Llorente was on hand to slot home. Tevez made sure of the points when he let fly from 30 yards and sent the ball screaming past Abbiati into the roof of the net.
Defeat saw Milan drop to 10th in the table, five points outside the European places.
Jose Reina's bizarre own goal cost Napoli an important Serie A win as they drew 1-1 at Livorno on Sunday.
Napoli were seeking a victory that would have seen them close to within four points of second-placed Roma, but Reina was at fault as he fumbled the ball into his own net from Ibrahima Mbaye's tame effort.
The goalkeeper's horror moment arrived just seven minutes after Dries Mertens had fired the visitors into the lead from the penalty spot, as Rafael Benitez's men were held to a frustrating draw at Stadio Armando Picchi.
Lazio claimed their second straight victory with a 1-0 win over Fiorentina at Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Lorik Cana's early strike was enough to claim all three points for Lazio, who were knocked out of the Europa League after an aggregate 4-3 defeat to Ludogorets on Thursday.
Edy Reja's side moved up two places into eighth, while Fiorentina remain in fourth in the Serie A standings.
Bologna missed a penalty and had a man sent off as they were held to a 0-0 draw in their clash with European hopefuls Hellas Verona.
Rolando Bianchi squandered the game's best chance when he won the spot-kick two minutes after half-time, but saw it saved by home goalkeeper Rafael.
And relegation-threatened Bologna's frustration at letting the chance of maximum points elude them spilled over late on when first-half substitute Jonathan Cristaldo was dismissed for an elbow on Vangelis Moras.
Parma moved back into the top six with a 1-0 win away to bottom club Sassuolo.
Marco Parolo's early goal was enough for the Gialloblu, who moved ahead of Hellas Verona into the final Europa League place.
Sassuolo were dominated throughout and their afternoon got even worse in the second half when substitute Domenico Berardi was sent off only a minute after his introduction, damaging any hope of an already unlikely comeback.
The goal came inside two minutes as Jonathan Biabiany's cross from the right was met by Parolo, who sidefooted inside the near post.
Cagliari picked up a crucial three points to move level with Udinese thanks to a 3-0 win over Francesco Guidolin's men.
Victor Ibarbo gave Cagliari the lead against a wasteful Udinese, whose hopes of snatching a point were dashed by further goals from Matias Vecino and Agim Ibraimi in the final 10 minutes at the Stadio Sant'Elia.
Both sides will end the weekend at least five points clear of the relegation zone.
Genoa left Catania in serious relegation danger after winning 2-0 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Luca Antonelli gave the Genovese side the lead in the 14th minute, and after Giuseppe Bellusci was sent off shortly before the break, there was only going to be one winner.
Genoa had to wait until five minutes from time before sealing victory, though, with 20-year-old Stefano Sturaro's first strike in Serie A settling their nerves and ending Catania's hopes.
Atalanta got back to winning ways at home with a 2-1 success over relegation-threatened Chievo.
Substitute Luca Cigarini struck the match-winning goal five minutes from the end after Bostjan Cesar's 65th-minute red card had reduced Chievo to 10 men.
Cesar was given a second caution after a soft, but ill-advised, slap to the face of German Denis with his side trailing to Carlos Carmona's first-half goal.
Chievo did equalise moments later when Dario Dainelli headed in from a free-kick but the Flying Donkeys failed to hold on as Denis supplied the assist for Cigarini.
Goals from Stefano Okaka and Manolo Gabbiadini helped Sampdoria put back-to-back losses behind them as they cruised to a 2-0 victory at Torino.
Morale must have been low among the Genoa-based side after defeats to Roma and AC Milan, but they responded strongly at the Stadio Olimpico.
Okaka opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Gabbiadini settled matters after 79 minutes with a wonderful strike.
Sampdoria had conceded five goals in their two defeats without scoring, but they ended speculation over a lack of firepower when Okaka found the back of the net after seven minutes, slotting home from close range after latching on to Pedro Obiang's header.