Milan moved above Juventus and Udinese at the Serie A summit last night with victory over struggling Siena at the San Siro.

After a frustrating first half, the hosts finally made the breakthrough in the 54th minute through Antonio Nocerino.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic sealed the win with a controversial penalty in the 63rd minute, taking the Rossoneri a point clear of Juve and Udinese ahead of their matches today.

Siena’s gameplan was quite clear – to frustrate Milan with a solid, organised defence and then hit them on the break.

For almost an hour of the game, it worked, and they even had the best chance to lead in the first half.

Ibrahimovic and Kevin-Prince Boateng both had good early chances for the Rossoneri, the former volleying over and the latter’s shot saved on the stretch by Zeljko Brkic.

Francesco Bolzoni then almost put Siena in front in the 23rd minute when he nicked the ball past Milan goalkeeper Marco Amelia, but the ball shaved the outside of the far post.

The tension was lifted nine minutes into the second half, though, when Nocerino fired Massimiliano Allegri’s side ahead.

Clarence Seedorf’s corner was laid back by Robinho to the former Palermo midfielder, who drilled a low shot past Brkic into the bottom corner.

It was Seedorf’s last involvement in the game as he was then withdrawn, with Alberto Aquilani taking to the field.

Eight minutes later, Milan were gifted the chance to double their lead when Boateng went down theatrically in the box and the referee pointed to the spot.

The Ghana international latched onto Robinho’s through-ball and took a tumble over Brkic, who tried to move out of the Milan midfielder’s way as he nudged the ball past him.

Ibrahimovic stepped up to score from the spot and condemn Siena to their fourth straight defeat, leaving them on the brink of the relegation zone.

Earlier, Chievo saw off Cagliari to move above their opponents into the top half of the standings.

Cyril Thereau and Gennaro Sardo scored the goals for the hosts in front of a paltry crowd at the Stadio Bentegodi.

The home side also had two goals ruled out for offside as they deservedly took all three points against a disappointing Cagliari.

Serie A

Chievo 2
Thereau 35; Sardo 57;
Cagliari 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 6,000.

Fiorentina 2
Gilardino 9; Jovetic 88;
Atalanta 2
Masiello 81; Denis 86;

HT: 1-0. Att: 15,812.

Milan 2
Nocerino 54; Ibrahimovic 63p;
Siena 0

HT: 0-0. Att: 41,759.

Playing today – 15.00
Catania vs Palermo
Cesena vs Inter
Genoa vs Bologna
Juventus vs Novara
Lazio vs Udinese - 20.45
Napoli vs Roma - 20.45
Parma vs Lecce

Standings

Next fixtures
Tuesday: 18.00 Siena vs Fiorentina; 20.45 Cagliari vs Milan.
Wednesday: 18.00 Udinese vs Juventus. 20.45 Atalanta vs Cesena; Bologna vs Roma; Inter vs Lecce; Lazio vs Chievo; Napoli vs Genoa; Novara vs Palermo; Parma vs Catania.

Serie B
AlbinoLeffe 0 - Gubbio 0
Bari 2 - Vicenza 2
Crotone 1 - Ascoli 2
Empoli 2 - Grosseto 2
Juve Stabia 3 - Cittadella 1
Modena 2 - Torino 1
Padova 2 - Nocerina 2
Reggina 1 - Sassuolo 1

Playing today
Varese vs Verona - 12.30

Tomorrow
Pescara vs Sampdoria - 20.45

Played Friday
Livorno 0 - Brescia 2

Standings: Torino 41; Verona, Sassuolo 37; Padova 35; Pescara 33; Reggina 30; Juve Stabia (-4), Grosseto 28; Varese 27; Sampdoria 26; Vicenza, Bari (-2), Cittadella 25; Crotone (-1) 24; Empoli, Brescia 22; AlbinoLeffe 21; Livorno, Modena 20; Gubbio 18; Nocerina 16; Ascoli (-7) 15.