Alberto Paloschi struck late to secure the points as Chievo beat Verona 1-0 in the city derby to give them some breathing space in the battle for relegation in Serie A.

With two wins apiece ahead of what was the fifth Verona derby in history, Paloschi made sure of the points nine minutes from time after heading Ervin Zukanovic's cross past Francesco Benussi.

It was Paloschi's fourth goal of the campaign and the Chievo forward said: "The important thing was the three points, but scoring in the derby is an amazing feeling.

"We have a big squad of players, we're making progress and improving steadily."

Chievo have been hovering around the drop zone since the start of the season but their fourth win in 16 games took them two points clear of third-from-bottom Cagliari.

Verona striker Luca Toni had claimed his 300th professional goal last week but the former World Cup winner failed to make an impact as Chievo upset predictions to earn the local bragging rights.

Verona coach Andrea Mandorlini, however, later claimed Chievo's goal was offside.

"We played the game we set out to play but Chievo's victory was down more to a big mistake from the linesman than their performance," Mandorlini told Sky Sport.

"A point each would have been the correct result."

Chievo moved up to provisional 15th place, with Verona just one point ahead in 14th having lost nine of their past 10 games.

On Saturday Roma were held to their first home draw of the season by ten-man AC Milan to leave Rudi Garcia's title challengers three points adrift of leaders Juventus.

Roma had recently capitalised on two consecutive draws by defending champions Juve to reduce their deficit to a point.

But in their final game of the year, Roma -- denied a first-half penalty after a clear handball by Nigel De Jong -- ultimately failed to break down a well-drilled Milan side in a thrilling match.

Roma remain in second, with Juventus having won 3-1 at Cagliari on Thursday -- Napoli are third a further nine points adrift.

Milan stay in seventh but are only two points off Napoli in the final Champions League qualifying spot.

Inter, in 11th, host high-flying Lazio in Sunday's late game.