Inter Milan twice hit the post and were also foiled by goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Fiorentina on Wednesday which helped leaders Juventus move ever-closer to a ninth successive Serie A title.
Inter forward Romelu Lukaku headed against the post in the first half and Alexis Sanchez also saw a shot touched onto the upright by Terracciano in the second half.
The result meant that Juventus, who lead with 70 points and have four games left, can wrap up a ninth successive title by winning at Udinese on Thursday.
Atalanta, second with 74 points, and Inter, third with 73, have three games each to play and Juventus have a better head-to-head record with both of them.
Despite their unlucky breaks, it was generally a tired and uninspired performance from Antonio Conte's side who relied mainly on lofting crosses into the area aimed at Lukaku.
Terracciano made a double save early on to prevent Martin Caceres scoring an own goal and also blocked Lukaku's effort from the rebound.
Lukaku smacked a header against the post and Terracciano then diverted a close-range shot by the Belgian with his outstretched leg.
Fiorentina should have gone ahead before halftime when Franck Ribery's free kick found German Pezzella unmarked at the far post but the Argentine headed over.
Inter's best second-half move featured a powerful run by Lukaku who found Sanchez and the Chilean's shot was touched onto the post by Terracciano and rebounded back into the arms of the grateful goalkeeper.
ROMA ROUT SPAL
Nicolo Zaniolo ran 60 metres of the field, leaving a trail of opponents in his wake, as he scored an extraordinary solo goal to cap AS Roma's 6-1 win away to relegated SPAL in Serie A on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old, who has only recently returned from a injury layoff of nearly six months, collected the ball inside his own half.
He turned past one opponent, held off another as he crossed the halfway line, skipped past a third and charged towards goal before cutting inside another defender and firing the ball into the top corner.
Roma's win took them back into fifth place with 61 points, which would earn them a place in the Europa League group stage, although they still have a mathematical chance of catching fourth-placed Lazio (69 points) and qualifying for the Champions League.
Nikola Kalinic gave Roma a 10th-minute lead before Alberto Cerri replied for SPAL with an acrobatic header.
Carlos Perez put Roma back in front in the 38th minute and they ran riot after halftime with a goal from Aleksandar Kolarov and a brace from Bruno Peres before Zaniolo produced his masterpiece.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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