Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one goal and set up another and Inter Milan beat Livorno 2-1 to move 16 points clear atop Italy's Serie A on Saturday.
Second-placed AS Roma drew Ascoli 1-1.
Livorno captain Cristiano Lucarelli had opened the scoring with a curling free kick in the 27th minute before Ibrahimovic passed to Julio Ricardo Cruz to equalize in the 35th.
Ibrahimovic then struck a 66th-minute free kick to earn the win.
"We earned an important victory today," Ibrahimovic said. "I had a good game but the whole team played well and this makes me happier ... We have everything in our hands and we have to try not to make mistakes."
Roma rallied to 1-1 on Sweden midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson's 85th-minute goal after Andrea Soncin had put last-place Ascoli ahead in the 31st.
"I'm pretty unhappy about what happened today," Roma coach Luciano Spalletti said. "We have to get better at fronting up to determined opponents ... Ascoli, however, deserved the draw."
Inter leads the Serie A with 70 points, followed by Roma with 54. Palermo is third with 45, and played Messina yesterday. Livorno has 28 points -- 12 more than Ascoli.
In the late game, AC Milan beat Chievo Verona 3-1 at San Siro to move into a tie for fourth.
Sergio Pellissier profited from a defensive mix-up to put Chievo ahead in the 17th, before Alberto Gilardino equalized in the 33rd with a chip over Chievo goalkeeper Lorenzo Squizzi.
Massimo Oddo scored Milan's second goal in the 55th with a powerful shot from the corner of the penalty box. Clarence Seedorf sealed the win with an in-swinging free kick in the 90th.
"We started off slowly ... but after the first 20 minutes Milan was a different team," Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "Now we have to hang on to this fourth place."
Milan has 40 points with Lazio, which played Sampdoria yesterday. Chievo has 23 points.
Inter was unlucky not to secure its 22nd league win by a larger margin and twice hit the post in the first half.
Dejan Stankovic, who returned from a one-match suspension, beat Livorno goalkeeper Marco Amelia from the edge of the area in the 21st but was denied by the upright. Fabio Grosso also hit the woodwork 10 minutes later.
Lucarelli directed a free kick into the top left hand corner of Inter's goal after being fouled by Inter defender Marco Materazzi on the edge of the area.
Cruz equalized from close range after Ibrahimovic nonchalantly back-heeled the ball into his path.
"It was a very difficult match ... against a Livorno side who played very well," Cruz said.
Inter midfielder Maxwell earned the free kick, which led to the Swede's powerful winner, after a clumsy challenge by opposite number Dario Passoni.
Lucarelli was full of admiration for Ibrahimovic's performance.
"You often think that center forwards of his stature build their game solely around their physical attributes ... but he also has really great technique and is brilliant with the ball between his feet," Lucarelli said.
Nerazzurri right back Maicon was sent off in the 82nd after earning two yellow cards in a minute -- the first for a foul and the second for sarcastically applauding the referee's decision.
The Brazil defender will miss next week's derby against city rival AC Milan.
Inter coach Roberto Mancini was expelled from the touchline a minute later for complaining.
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