Serie A Table 2013 Week 17: Updated Standings Following Matchday 16

The best of Serie A got even better over Matchday 15 when Juventus and AS Roma continued to distance themselves from the rest of the pack.

With a 2-0 victory over Bologna on Dec. 7, Juventus continued their streak as defending champions en route to what would be a third straight title in Italy's top division of world football.

But despite improving to 13-1-1 heading into Matchday 16, they have some company at the top. Just three points back are Roma, who are looking to quickly erase memories of a sixth-place finish in last year's table by climbing all the way to the top of the league. They head into the weekend after disposing of Fiorentina 2-1 in an impressive showing.

The 18 other clubs in Serie A are looking up at them, with Napoli—five points back of second-place Roma—posing as the biggest competition to the two-headed monster at the top of the table.

Here's a look at the updated table for Matchday 16 and the fixtures schedule.

Pos.	Club	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Juventus	16	13	1	1	21	43
2	AS Roma	16	11	5	0	24	38
3	Napoli	16	11	2	3	14	35
4	Fiorentina	16	9	3	4	9	30
5	Inter Milan	16	7	7	2	17	28
6	Hellas Verona	16	8	2	6	2	26
7	Torino	16	5	7	4	1	22
8	Lazio	16	5	5	6	-3	20
9	Genoa	16	5	5	6	-2	20
10	AC Milan	16	4	7	5	0	19
11	Parma	16	4	7	5	-2	19
12	Cagliari	16	4	7	5	-6	19
13	Atalanta	16	5	3	8	-4	18
14	Sampdoria	16	4	5	7	-7	17
15	Udinese	16	5	2	9	-4	17
16	Chievo Verona	16	4	3	9	-6	15
17	Sassuolo	16	3	5	8	-14	14
18	Livorno	16	3	4	9	-10	13
19	Bologna	16	2	6	8	-12	12
20	Catania	16	2	4	10	-18	10

Date	Home	Score/Time	Away
Dec. 14	Catania	0-0	Hellas Verona
Dec. 15	Udinese	0-2	Torino
Dec. 15	Fiorentina	3-0	Bologna
Dec. 15	Chievo	0-1	Sampdoria
Dec. 15	Genoa	1-1	Atalanta
Dec. 15	Parma	0-0	Cagilari
Dec. 15	Lazio	2-0	Livorno
Dec. 15	Juventus	4-0	Sassuolo
Dec. 15	Napoli	4-2	Inter
Dec. 16	Milan	2-2	Roma

Update: Monday, Dec. 16 at 4:55 p.m. ET by Patrick Clarke

Milan and Roma played to a 2-2 draw in Monday's lone match. Roma took a 2-1 lead moments into the second half on a Kevin Strootman penalty strike, but were unable to hold on down the stretch as Sulley Ali Muntari equalized for Milan in the 77th minute.

In addition to Mario Balotelli and Strootman, Muntari was arguably the best player on the pitch on Monday, recording five tackles, winning a majority of his challenges and capitalizing on his big chance late in the game. 

The draw brings Milan up to 10th in the league table and keeps Roma in second, five points back of league leaders Juventus.

---End of update---

Update: Sunday, Dec. 15 at 7:44 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

Juventus ensured they would leave Week 16 with the top of the La Liga table all to themselves by earning a 4-0 win over Sassuolo at Juventus Stadium on Sunday. 

Carlos Tevez netted a hat trick in the match to help his side pull out the win over 17th-place Sassuolo. 

In other Sunday action, Napoli downed Inter, 4-2. Milan's Yuto Nagatomo netted a goal in extra time in the first half to send the match into halftime with Milan trailing, 3-2. 

Napoli turned on the defensive clamps in the second half and earned the win. That pushes them to 35 points on the season as Milan is stuck on 28 and is now in fifth place. 

They were passed over for fourth by Fiorentina. Vincenzo Montella's men earned three points with a 3-0 win over Bologna in a home match they dominated from start to finish. 

---End of update---

Catania 0-0 Hellas Verona

One of many teams fighting for those top spots behind Juventus and Roma is Hellas Verona, but they slipped up in a huge opportunity to gain some ground on Saturday by drawing against Catania.

Still the bottom dwellers of Serie A with a last-place 10 points, Catania controlled things from the get-go. But despite a 56 percent advantage in possession and five more shots on goal, Catania could not pull off the victory, and no winner was netted.

With a win, Verona would have moved into a tie for fourth with Inter at 28 points and put some heat on the league's top clubs. Instead, they got off just one shot on goal and were unable to mount much of an offensive attack against the league's worst team. 

Catania won't complain about the result. Even though the squad eyed three points and got dangerously close at times, it was still just the sixth time in 16 appearances that they secured a point.