Roma beats Cagliari to move into Serie A top 4

MILAN (AP) — Roma moved into the Champions League qualifying places after seeing off Cagliari 3-0 in Serie A on Saturday.

The capital side was 2-0 up within eight minutes thanks to Federico Fazio and Javier Pastore. Aleksandar Kolarov added a third late on in Roma's best performance since Claudio Ranieri was appointed as interim coach last month.

Even if Roma qualifies for the Champions League, Ranieri is unlikely to be in charge, with reports growing that the club is in talks with former Juventus, Italy, and Chelsea coach Antonio Conte.

"I would love to see him on the Roma bench, but I don't know anything: I would be the last to know," Ranieri said with a smile. "I would be super happy if Conte came in. I would go and collect him from the airport."

Roma moved to fourth, two points above AC Milan and Atalanta, which play Torino and Udinese respectively, this weekend.

STUNNING GOAL

Cristiano Ronaldo boosted his chances of winning the top scorer award as he helped Juventus salvage a 1-1 draw at Inter Milan.

Ronaldo's 20th league goal put him two behind Sampdoria forward Fabio Quagliarella and one below AC Milan's Krzysztof Piatek and Atalanta's Duvan Zapata.

Juventus clinched a record-extending eighth successive league title last weekend and came into the Derby d'Italia without several regulars.

Radja Nainggolan gave Inter an early lead in an entertaining match with a stunning 30-yard volley.

Ronaldo leveled in the second half after a one-two with Miralem Pjanic.

Inter remained third, four points above Roma.

RELEGATION BATTLE

Bologna took a crucial step to avoiding relegation by beating fellow struggler Empoli 3-1.

Empoli remained in the relegation zone, four points from safety, while Bologna moved eight points above the bottom three.

There were four rounds remaining.