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Torino beat Juventus for first time in 20 years

Torino's supporters look on as a firework explode during their Italian Serie A soccer match against Juventus at Olympic Stadium in Turin April 26, 2015. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino (Reuters)

MILAN (Reuters) - Torino came from behind to beat Serie A leaders Juventus 2-1 and prevail over their more glamorous neighbours for the first time in 20 years after a pulsating derby marred by crowd violence on Sunday. Second-placed Lazio failed to take advantage as they were held 1-1 by at home by lowly Chievo while Napoli revived their Champions League hopes with a 4-2 win over Sampdoria, helped by two goals from Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain. Diego Farias ran half the length of the pitch, leaving a trail of defenders in his wake, to complete Cagliari's 3-1 win at Fiorentina and give Gianluca Festa a winning start as the relegation-threatened Sardinians' third coach of the season. Juventus, beaten for only the third time in the league this season, looked set to continue their 17-match unbeaten run in the Turin fixture when Andrea Pirlo put the visitors ahead with a typically majestic free kick in the 35th minute. But Matteo Darmian levelled for Torino on the stroke of halftime and Fabio Quagliarella scored the winner against his former club in the 57th minute, just after Pirlo had struck the post from another free kick. Off the pitch, police said nine people were injured when a paper bomb -- like a banger -- was thrown from the Juventus supporters' end in response to objects hurled by Torino fans. Violence also flared before the game when 300 Torino fans tried to block the Juventus team bus from entering the stadium compound and threw stones at the vehicle, breaking one of its windows. Juventus, who have 73 points from 32 games, are still 14 points clear of Lazio with six games left and will be crowned champions on Wednesday if they beat Fiorentina at home and Lazio fail to overcome bottom-of-the-table Parma. But, for once, it was unheralded Torino who were doing the celebrating on Sunday. "We have broken many taboos and we hadn't won the derby since the dawn of time," said coach Giampiero Ventura, who took over at Torino in 2011 and led them out of Serie B in his first season. "Over the last four years we built from nothing to create a great team and this was the cherry on the cake." Torino had to cling on for the last half hour as Alessandro Matri twice hit the post and goalkeeper Daniele Padelli made two outstanding saves. Standings P W D L F A Pts 1 Juventus 32 22 7 3 60 17 73 2 Lazio 32 18 5 9 59 31 59 ------------------------- 3 AS Roma 32 15 13 4 43 25 58 ------------------------- 4 Napoli 32 16 8 8 57 39 56 ------------------------- 5 Sampdoria 32 12 14 6 40 35 50 Lazio appeared to have done the hard part against Chievo when Miroslav Klose broke from midfield to put them ahead on the stroke of halftime, dinking the ball over Albano Bizzarri. But Chievo levelled against the run of play when Ezequiel Schelotto's off-target shot was turned into the goal by Alberto Paloschi. Fourth-placed Napoli (56 points) moved within two of AS Roma, who are third in the Champions League qualifying round spot after losing 2-1 to Inter Milan on Saturday. Luca Toni, 37, scored twice to give Verona a 3-2 win over Sassuolo in a midtable game, taking his tally for the season to 17. Parma, who have had seven points deducted this season for breaching Serie A financial regulations, clung on grimly for another week when Antonio Nocerino's penalty gave them a 1-0 win over Palermo. Cagliari's win left them 18th in the 20-team table with 24 points, still seven adrift of safety and Atalanta, who drew 2-2 at home to Empoli, Cesena, on 23 points after losing 3-1 at Genoa, also looked doomed. 17 Atalanta Bergamo 32 6 13 13 29 44 31 ------------------------- 18 Cagliari 32 5 9 18 38 62 24 19 Cesena 32 4 11 17 29 56 23 20 Parma * 32 6 5 21 27 58 16 ------------------------- * Deducted 7 points. (Writing by Brian Homewood, editing by Mark Meadows)