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Milan moved third in Serie A after they put Udinese to the sword with a 5-1 thrashing at the San Siro in front of David Beckham while Juventus stayed in touch with Serie A leaders Internazionale with a 3-1 win over Atalanta in Bergamo.

Milan moved third in Serie A after they put Udinese to the sword with a 5-1 thrashing at the San Siro in front of David Beckham while Juventus stayed in touch with Serie A leaders Internazionale with a 3-1 win over Atalanta in Bergamo.

Alexandre Pato gave Milan the perfect start when he headed home a Giuseppe Favalli cross after just four minutes.

He then laid on the second for Kaka before Antonio Di Natale pulled one back for the visitors after 16 minutes.

Any hopes Udinese had of a comeback were shattered when Pato turned home a Luca Antonini flick-on a minute later.

Clarence Seedorf added a fourth before Kaka finished the rout seven minutes after half-time much to the delight of the 52,000 plus crowd that included new loan signing David Beckham.

Atalanta 1-3 Juventus

Juve's victory, courtesy of goals by Alessandro Del Piero, Nicola Legrottaglie and Amauri, cut Inter's lead at the top of Serie A to six points.

But it was far from plain sailing for Claudio Ranieri's side. On a pitch that cut up easily, Atalanta bossed the opening exchanges and created a number of chances to break the deadlock early on.

Nerazzurri striker Cristiano Doni went close with a third minute free-kick while Sergio Floccari got himself in several goalscoring positions, but neither were able to convert the hosts' early domination into a goal.

And Atalanta were made to pay for their profligacy as Del Piero swooped on the half-hour mark to give Juventus the lead against the run of play. There was a hint of offside as Marco Marchionni was released down the right wing but the flag stayed down allowing him to deliver an excellent, teasing cross that Del Piero turned past Ferdinando Coppola in the Atalanta net.

Eight minutes later and the visitors' lead was doubled when Legrottaglie rose highest to meet a corner with a firm header. It was not the first time Atalanta had looked shaky from a ball into the box; Georgio Chiellini's headed effort on 11 minutes hit the back of the net but was ruled out for offside.

Two-nil down at the break and Atalanta boss Gigi Del Neri was forced into shuffling his pack. On came veteran striker Christian Vieri for the second half and his introduction paid immediate dividends.

The 35-year-old rolled back the years as he attacked a 48th minute corner with real intent, stooping to power a header past Alex Manninger and get his side right back into the game.

With the home crowd fired up, Atalanta pressed hard for an equaliser as the second half progressed, but a second goal remained elusive.

Juve sealed all three points from another set piece header with just nine minutes remaining, this time Amauri getting his head to Marchionni's well-delivered free-kick amid some slack Atalanta marking.

Cagliari 1-1 Reggina

Striker Robert Acquafresca put the hosts ahead in the first minute with a powerful header from a free kick. New Reggina coach Giuseppe Pillon saw his second-from-bottom side equalise on the hour through Franco Brienza's spotkick after Paolo Bianco handled in the area and was sent off for a second booking.

Catania 3-2 Roma

The hosts had Roma on the ropes right from the off and they were rewarded when Davide Baiocco clipped in after a quick break following a Roma mistake in midfield. The Sicilians went two up when Japanese forward Takayuki Morimoto slotted home after breaching the offside trap five minutes before the break. He was equally cool when netting again on 56 minutes. Roma had previously won five league matches in a row. They netted through Mirko Vucinic and Jeremy Menez on 74 and 78 minutes but it was too late.

Chievo 0-1 Genoa

Ruben Olivera stole victory for high-flying Genoa a minute from time with a powerful run and shot. Striker Sergio Pellissier hit the post for bottom side Chievo at the start of the second half and the hosts hit the woodwork again as Genoa, missing injured top scorer Diego Milito, were put under the cosh.

Lecce 0-0 Bologna

The visitors had the best of the first half but fellow strugglers Lecce fought back in the second period and had numerous chances to break the deadlock.

Sampdoria 0-1 Fiorentina

Midfielder Riccardo Montolivo fired home from the edge of the box on 19 minutes to secure a battling victory which lifts Fiorentina into the Champions League places. The visitors had other chances with Adrian Mutu striking a post.

Torino 1-0 Napoli

Striker Rolando Bianchi slid in at the far post on 53 minutes to give struggling Torino a much-needed victory against a Napoli side without suspended duo Ezequiel Lavezzi and Paolo Cannavaro as well as injured midfielder Marek Hamsik. New Torino coach Walter Novellino jigged for joy on the touchline having also masterminded the midweek Italian Cup win over Fiorentina.

TeamTalk / Reuters