Thiago Motta scored twice to help suspension-hit Inter Milan keep their noses in front in Serie A with a 3-0 win over Bologna on Saturday.
The Brazilian midfielder's goals were separated by a 52nd minute effort by 19-year-old forward Mario Balotelli, who was frozen out of the team for a month following a row with coach Jose Mourinho.
Second-placed AS Roma, who stayed in the hunt by beating Inter last week, remain one point behind on 65 with six games to go thanks to a 1-0 victory at Bari.
AC Milan remained two points adrift of Roma in third after snapping a three match winless streak with a 3-2 victory at Cagliari.