Milan crush Udinese to keep pace with Juve

Milan crushed Udinese 5-1 to rack up their eighth successive Serie A win but stayed second behind Juventus who enjoyed a smooth 3-0 win over Livorno yesterday.

Juventus now have 30 points from 11 matches, two ahead of Milan and five clear of third-placed Fiorentina who beat Ascoli 2-0.

Elsewhere, Chievo beat Siena 1-0 to climb to fifth on 19 points, one fewer than Inter who drew 0-0 with Lazio on Saturday. Roma climbed to sixth with a 2-0 victory over Messina.

Champions Juventus were aiming to resume normal service after losing their 100 per cent record in the 3-1 defeat to Milan.

Livorno nearly gifted them an early lead, when a poor clearance by defender Fabio Galante dropped kindly for David Trezeguet who volleyed wide.

Trezeguet's strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic also went close, forcing a diving save from Livorno keeper Marco Amelia, but the visitors found their rhythm and wasted a good chance when Diego De Ascentis narrowly failed to make contact with Cristiano Lucarelli's cross.

Livorno's resistance finally cracked on 58 minutes. Patrick Vieira hoisted a long ball into the area and Ibrahimovic conjured up a spectacular lob-volley over Amelia.

A minute later Trezeguet grabbed Juve's second, his fifth goal in four matches, with a header from Gianluca Zambrotta's cross.

Having lost control of the game, Livorno's players began to lose their discipline.

De Ascentis was red-carded for kicking out at Adrian Mutu and Alessandro Del Piero wrapped up the result with a goal on the break in stoppage time.

Milan wasted little time breaking down Udinese, who have now earned just two points in four matches and looked a shadow of the side that finished fourth last season.

Milan took the lead in the 25th minute, when Alberto Gilardino gathered Filippo Inzaghi's low cross, turned his marker and poked the ball past keeper Gabriele Paoletti.

Inzaghi was instrumental in creating the second goal too, teeing up the ball on the edge of the area for Clarence Seedorf to blast into the bottom corner.

Andrea Pirlo added Milan's third with a free-kick on the stroke of halftime and Gilardino got his second shortly after the restart when Serginho cut the ball across the area at the end of a run down the left.

Udinese striker Vincenzo Iaquinta pulled one back from the penalty spot after he was fouled by Gennaro Gattuso.

But Kaka completed the rout 13 minutes from time with a predatory finish after Paoletti failed to hold Serginho's shot.

Fiorentina took the lead at Ascoli when Tomas Ujfalusi headed home a corner in the first minute.

Italy striker Luca Toni struck Fiorentina's second just after the hour to consolidate his position as Serie A's top scorer with 13 goals in 11 matches.

Serie A

Ascoli 0
Fiorentina 2

Cagliari 0
Treviso 0

Juventus 3
Livorno 0

Messina 0
Roma 2

Milan 5
Udinese 1

Palermo 0
Sampdoria 2

Parma 2
Lecce 0

Siena 0
Chievo 1

Played On Saturday

Empoli 3
Reggina 0

Lazio 0
Inter 0

Next Fixtures

Saturday: Friendly (Amsterdam) 8.45 p.m. Holland vs Italy.

Wednesday, Nov. 16: Friendly (Geneva) 9 p.m. Italy vs Ivory Coast.

Saturday, Nov. 19: 6 p.m. Udinese vs Messina. 8.30 p.m. Roma vs Juve.

Sunday, Nov. 20: 3 p.m. Chievo vs Ascoli; Fiorentina vs Milan; Lecce vs Siena; Livorno vs Empoli; Reggina vs Cagliari; Sampdoria vs Lazio; Treviso vs Palermo. 8.30 p.m. Inter vs Parma.

Top Scorers

13 goals Toni (Fiorentina)

8 goals Chiesa (Siena), Tavano (Empoli), Bonazzoli (Sampdoria)

7 goals Gilardino (Milan), Trezeguet (Juventus)

Serie B

Modena vs Vicenza today, 8.45 p.m.

Serie C1 (A)

Cittadella vs Pro Sesto 2-0
Genoa vs Giulianova 2-0
Lumezzane vs Pizzighettone 1-2
Monza vs Spezia 1-1
Padova vs Ravenna 1-1

Pavia vs Fermana 5-0
Salernitana vs Sambenedettese 5-0
San Marino vs Pro Patria 1-1
Teramo vs Novara 3-1

Standings: Spezia 20; Genoa (-3) 19; Monza 18; Padova, Teramo 17; Pavia, Pizzighettone 16; Samb. 15; Giulianova 13; Lumezzane, Salernitana, San Marino 12; Cittadella 11; Novara, Pro Sesto 10; Pro Patria 9; Ravenna 7; Fermana 3.

Serie C1 (B)

Acireale vs Martina 1-1
Chieti vs Gela 2-2
Foggia vs Manfredonia 0-0
Juve Stabia vs Lanciano 1-2 (aban. 88 min. due to pitch invasion)

Massese vs Lucchese 2-1
Pisa vs Napoli 0-3
Pistoiese vs Torres 0-0
Sangiovannese vs Grosseto 1-3
Frosinone vs Perugia today

Standings: Napoli 22; Perugia 18; Sangiovannese 18; Frosinone, Grosseto, Martina, Massese 14; Manfredonia, Torres 13; Chieti, Gela 12; Acireale, Pisa 11; Lucchese 10; Lanciano 9; Foggia, Juve Stabia 8; Pistoiese 6.