MILAN — England goalkeeper Joe Hart upset the upcoming birthday celebrations of Francesco Totti in a 3-1 win for Torino over Roma as rival Lazio brazenly joined the scudetto race Sunday.
Ousted from Manchester City by Pep Guardiola last month, Hart joined unfashionable Serie A side Torino in a bid to maintain his status as England's No. 1 shot-stopper.
Having kept 'Granata' fans guessing during a few nervous displays in recent weeks, the on-loan City 'keeper was rock solid throughout at Torino's Stadio Olimpico where the only blot on his report card was Totti's 55th minute penalty for the visitors.
It marked Totti's 250th goal in Serie A, but plans to count a Roma win among his 40th birthday presents this Tuesday were dashed by a defeat that moved Torino up to midtable, and left Luciano Spalletti's Romafive points behind leaders Juventus.
Roma was looking to reply to Juve's cagey 1-0 win at Palermo Saturday.
But Andrea Belotti headed an eighth-minute opener past Wojciech Szczesny, and at the other end Hart was on fire.
He was out smartly early on to steal the ball from Edin Dzeko, then got down low to save with one hand from the Bosnian striker's snap shot from close range.
An alert Hart then tipped over Dzeko's header from Mohamed Salah's delivery.
The Giallorossi heads dropped further when Iago Falque beat Szczesny from the spot on 53 minutes.
Although Totti came off the bench to send Hart the wrong way from the penalty spot two minutes later, hopes of a late fightback were quashed when Falque's deflected shot flew over Szczesny halfway through the second period.
Roma's second reverse will prove costlier after Keita Balde and Senad Lulic scored once in each half to secure a 2-0 win over Empoli that moved Lazio up to fifth, behind Roma only on goals difference.
Inter Milan also capitalized on Roma's slip despite being held 1-1 at the San Siro by Bologna.
Inter, neverthless, moved up to third at four points off the lead, three behind Napoli and one ahead of Roma, Lazio and surprise packages Chievo and Bologna.
Griezmann rescues 10-man Atletico
Antoine Griezmann was Atletico Madrid's hero once more with the winner as last season's Champions League finalist moved third in La Liga with a 1-0 win over 10-man Deportivo la Coruna.
Moroccan winger Faycal Fajr undid a fine opening 45 minutes for the visitors when he picked up two quickfire yellow cards just before the break.
Atletico passed up a host of chances in the second half, but finally made the breakthrough 20 minutes from time when Griezmann tapped home his fifth goal of the season.
Diego Simeone's men now trail leader Real Madrid by just two points and move to within a point of Barcelona.
However, the host suffered a double injury blow ahead of their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich Wednesday as Augusto Fernandez and Jose Maria Gimenez had to be replaced before half-time.
Deportivo has now lost on its last 11 visits to the Vicente Calderon, but frustrated Atletico until Fajr's moments of madness left the Galicians with an almost impossible task.
Southampton wins
Charlie Austin exacted sweet revenge on a club which once questioned his fitness as West Ham lost its fourth straight Premier League game at the Olympic Stadium Sunday.
Austin's goal and assist gave Southampton a 3-0 victory over a team whose top official had said he wouldn't sign the forward due to the state of his knee.
In August 2015, West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan told an unofficial club podcast: "They say he (Austin) has no ligaments in his knee, who knows?"
But Austin proved his worth for Southampton, scoring his fifth goal in four games in all competitions to dispel any doubts about his physical condition or ability.
The win means midtable Southampton has eight points from six matches. West Ham is struggling in the relegation zone with three points from six games.
Caption:
Torino goalkeeper Joe Hart (R) saves a ball during a Serie A soccer match against Roma at the Turin Olympic Stadium, Italy, Sunday. — AP
