Genoa, Fiorentina in goalless stalemate

Genoa (Italy), Dec 30 (IANS) Fiorentina missed a chance to gain ground on their rivals in the tightly packed Serie A mid-table, managing only a 0-0 draw with hosts Genoa here.Coming off a 1-0 loss to Parma, their eighth draw in 19 matches here Saturday leaves Fiorentina in 10th place with 26 points at the mid-point of the season, reports Efe.Genoa are 14th with 20 points, trailing Cagliari on goal difference.In Sassuolo, Josep Ilicic had a hat trick as visitors Atalanta routed the hosts 6-2.Atalanta led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals by Colombian forward Duvan Zapata in the 19th minute and Argentina's Alejandro Gomez in the 42nd.Sassuolo seemed to be at the start of a comeback when Ghanaian midfielder Alfred Duncan put his team on the scoreboard in the 51st minute.Just three minutes later, however, defender Gianluca Mancini made it 3-1 for Atalanta. Duncan needed just two minutes to claw one back for the hosts, getting his second of the night with an assist from countryman Kevin-Prince Boateng.The contest remained within reach for Sassuolo until the 74th minute, when Ilicic extended Atalanta's lead to 4-2.The Slovenian midfielder completed the triple with goals in the 87th minute and the second minute of stoppage time.
--IANS ajb/sed