Napoli triumph on Kaka's landmark Milan day
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E-mail Xinhua, January 7, 2014
Napoli beat Sampdoria 2-0 to close the gap on second-placed Roma to just two points, while Kaka scored his 100th goal for AC Milan in their 3-0 win over Atalanta at home on Monday.
With Roma losing 3-0 to leaders Juventus on Sunday, Rafa Benitez's side had the chance to edge themselves closer to the capital club.
And thanks to a second-half brace from Dries Mertens, Napoli ran out 2-0 winners against Sampdoria, although they still remain 10 points adrift of Juve.
The Partenopei were made to work hard by their opponents, who were twice denied by the woodwork in the second half.
Sampdoria head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic said Napoli deserved the victory.
Mihajlovic, though, was happy with the performance of his side.
"Without doubt Napoli deserved the victory and we have nothing to complain about," Mihajlovic said.
"It can happen to lose here, but the most important things were the performance and the chances that we managed to create against a strong side like Napoli in their own stadium," he said.
Napoli head coach Rafa Benitez warned his side should "be quicker at finishing games off".
"The team had many scoring opportunities and could've made the difference in the first half. The game was more open in the second and they caused us problems, but we got the goals," Benitez said.
Kaka became the 10th Milan player to reach the 100-goal mark for the club with a brace against Atalanta at San Siro.
He scored either side of half-time before Bryan Cristante registered his first for Milan to help them to a first win in four league matches, which follows the announcement of coach Massimiliano Allegri that he will leave at the end of the season.
Miroslav Klose's late winner against Inter Milan gave Edy Reja a successful start to his second spell in charge of Lazio.
The German forward struck nine minutes from time to hand Lazio a deserved 1-0 victory in their first game of 2014. Lazio, who had won just one of their last eight league matches heading into the contest, decided to sack Vladimir Petkovic at the weekend. The victory has lifted the Romans to 10th place while it has left Inter in sixth, eight points behind third-top Napoli.
Inter head coach Walter Mazzarri suggested that the referee's decisions proved crucial in his side's loss.
"We knew it was going to be a difficult game," he said. " This is the sort of game that is decided on the basis of right and wrong decisions."
"There was a clear penalty and a red card for a foul on Rolando from Dias, but (the referee) never minded. We were unlucky. It was a clear penalty," he said.
Lazio newly-appointed head coach Edy Reja said his Lazio side could have performed much better.
"We haven't played very well today," he said. "We can do much, much more.
"These three points give us some serenity, but we know we are not in the best condition," he said.
Parma moved within two points of Torino thanks to a 3-1 win over Giampiero Ventura's charges at the Stadio Ennio Tardini
After Ciro Immobile put the visitors ahead, goals from Marco Marchionni and Alessandro Lucarelli ensured Parma were on top at the break.
Bottom side Catania picked up a vital win in their relegation fight, edging Bologna 2-0 thanks to goals in either half from Gonzalo Bergessio and Francesco Lodi.
First-half goals from Alberto Gilardino and Andrea Bertolacci proved too much for Sassuolo, while Udinese's disappointing season continued with a 3-1 home defeat to Verona.
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