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Milan's form crisis deepened when goals by Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini condemned them to a 2-1 defeat at Sampdoria in Serie A, leaving coach Carlo Ancelotti's position looking precarious.

SAMPDORIA 2 MILAN 1

Cassano headed the hosts in front in the 33rd and his strike partner Pazzini stretched the lead six minutes into the second half with his fifth goal in as many games.

Brazilian Alexandre Pato pulled one back for Milan 10 minutes from time to set up an exciting finale.

Second-placed Juventus cut Inter Milan's lead to six points on Saturday by beating Napoli 1-0 in Turin but the champions were looking to go nine clear again with a home win over Roma later on Sunday.

Trailing leaders Inter by 11 points, coach Carlo Ancelotti had already called third-placed Milan out of the title race, saying a top three finish for direct entry into next season's Champions League was the target after being knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Werder Bremen on Thursday.

Even that modest objective now looks in peril although Fiorentina missed the chance to join Milan in third when they were held 1-1 at bottom side Reggina.

"We are conceding goals too easily. We found ourselves 2-0 down even though we had played more or less as well as Sampdoria," Ancelotti told Sky television.

"It is a delicate moment that must pass and we must make it pass with the least damage possible."

Milan protested furiously about Cassano's opener, arguing keeper Christian Abbiati had stopped the ball before it crossed the line, but TV replays seemed to show the referee made the right decision.

Ancelotti's men channelled their anger into surging forward.

But their hopes of making a comeback suffered the big blow when Pazzini showed great skill to shake off the attention of Daniele Bonera before slotting into the far corner.

Pato nodded in a Giuseppe Favalli cross to revive them near the end. His compatriot Emerson had an equaliser disallowed for offside but Samp withstood the pressure to take the spoils.

Giuseppe Mascara scored the goal of the day with a remarkable hoof from just beyond half way for the third goal in Catania's 4-0 demolition job at Sicilian rivals Palermo, who had Mark Bresciano sent off early on.

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ATALANTA 0 CHIEVO VERONA 2

Former Atalanta forward Antonio Langella opened the score with a left-footed strike in the 78th minute.

The home side had defender Thomas Manfredini sent off four minutes later for a high elbow. Sergio Pellissier converted an 89th-minute penalty to make sure the strugglers returned to Verona with a precious win.

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CAGLIARI 0 TORINO 0

Cagliari's Alessandro Matri hit a great chance straight at Torino keeper Matteo Sereni in the first half and Andrea Lazzari headed wide from a good position in the second. Otherwise it was a dull, error-ridden affair.

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PALERMO 0 CATANIA 4

Argentine Pablo Ledesma scored with a diving header in the 14th minute after inspired Japanese forward Takayuki Morimoto broke free from his marker and floated a cross into the centre of the area.

Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano was given a red card two minutes later for a nasty challenge on Morimoto, who sprinted on to a long ball to double the lead with a diagonal shot in the 37th.

Giuseppe Mascara scored the goal of the day with a remarkable hoof from just beyond half way in the 44th and Michele Paolucci completed the rout in the second half.

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REGGINA 1 FIORENTINA 1

Alessio Sestu gave the hosts the lead with a beautiful right-footed strike form outside the area in the 21st minute but former Reggina forward Emiliano Bonazzoli scrambled the ball in to level two minutes later.

Francesco Cozza contrived to hit the crossbar when presented with an open goal in the second half for basement side Reggina.

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SIENA 0 GENOA 0

Genoa had a Diego Milito goal disallowed for a dubious offside call in the 25th minute and they hit the post late on with a Raffaele Palladino strike. But the match was evenly balanced and a draw was a just result.

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UDINESE 2 LECCE 0

Gaetano D'Agostino deservedly put Udinese on top with a splendid free kick on 75 minutes and Giovanni Pasquale took advantage to tap in after Lecce keeper Francesco Benussi spilled the ball in a dreadful blunder in stoppage time.

Lecce, who dropped to second from bottom with their fourth consecutive defeat, had Luca Ariatti sent off for stamping 12 minutes from time.

Reuters