Milan leapfrog Juventus with Palermo win

AC Milan moved into second place in Serie A on Sunday as two penalties from Brazilian star Kaka saw them to a 3-0 victory over Palermo.

The result, and Juventus’ disappointing 2-2 draw with bottom club Reggina, was enough for Milan to leapfrog the Turin side, though they languish seven points adrift of city rivals Inter, who play Napoli later on Sunday.

AC Milan had effectively wrapped up the match by half-time as Kaka tucked away the first of his penalties in the 10th minute after Massimo Ambrosini had been fouled and then evergreen veteran Filippo Inzaghi added a second in the 19th minute, heading home from Ambrosini’s cross.

Kaka added a third in the 57th minute after he was felled in the area to make it six wins and a draw in Milan’s last seven matches with 19 goals scored and just two conceded.

However, they have a tough run-in with Juventus and Fiorentina – 4-1 winners over another future opponent of Milan’s AS Roma on Saturday – on their programme.

Juventus’ poor recent run continued as Reggina twice went ahead through Antonino Barilla and Norwegian midfielder Emil Hallfredsson, only to be pulled back by veteran Alessandro Del Piero and Cristiano Zanetti.

Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri admitted that it was impossible to paper over the weaknesses in the side which have been exposed in the run of four matches without a win and seen their fans turn on them.

“Juve saved face, but we should have won,” said Ranieri. “We allowed Reggina to run the game for half-an-hour and they took advantage of that.

“We then woke up and showed that we wanted to win a game which appeared to be a lost cause.

“At the moment our limitations are being exposed. We cannot hide it when we are not at our best,” added the former Chelsea coach.

Genoa also surprisingly dropped points as they went down 2-0 to relegation-threatened Bologna which could cost them dearly in their quest to secure a Champions League spot next season.

They are fifth, one place outside the qualifying places.

Fiorentina had eased into fourth spot with their thumping win over Roma.

For Roma, however, their Champions League hopes are fading with defeat leaving them in sixth place, six points behind Fiorentina with just five games left.

“It’s going to be very hard for us,” admitted Roma coach Luciano Spalletti.

Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli praised his team after they bounced back from a disappointing 3-1 loss at Udinese.

“I know these lads and the reaction they have always given. We wanted to give a strong response on the field,” said the coach.

“Florence is a special city, but has always appreciated the team when it runs out with passion, determination and effort.”