Roma missed the chance to move to the top of Serie A as they were held to a 0-0 draw at third-placed Sampdoria, who successfully extended their unbeaten start to the season.
Sergio Romero was Samp's hero with an outstanding save late on to prevent the Giallorossi from snatching all three points in Genoa.
The draw took Roma level on points with the leaders Juventus, who host Palermo on Sunday, while Samp have now won four and drawn four of their eight games this term.
Parma's season went from bad to worse as they were beaten 3-1 at home by local rivals Sassuolo, who celebrated their first victory of the campaign.
The Gialloblu continue to prop up the rest of the division after suffering a seventh defeat in eight Serie A games this season, leaving them stuck on three points..
Sergio Floccari, Francesco Acerbi and Saphir Taider did the damage at the Stadio Tardini as Sassuolo took maximum points for the first time this term to move out of the bottom three.
Antonio Cassano pulled a goal back late on for Parma, but it was nothing more than a consolation on another forgettable evening for Roberto Donadoni's side.
Cagliari leapfrogged Empoli in the standings thanks to an emphatic 4-0 win in Tuscany.
Four goals in 15 minutes leading up to half-time did the damage for the visitors, with the hosts doing their best to recover in the second period but unable to prevent a third loss of the season.
Marco Sau put Zdenek Zeman's men in front before two goals from Danilo Avelar, the second from the penalty spot, and an Albin Ekdal strike sealed the points for the Sardinians.