Rome - AC Milan Sunday remained within one point of Serie A leaders Inter Milan thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 win against minnows Chievo. Champions Inter had the best of Palermo Saturday with a 2-0 victory that pushed them on to 27 points from 12 games, while 10-man Napoli lost ground as Atalanta beat them 3-1 Sunday.
Milan dominated large stretches of the game at the Giuseppe Meazza, but it took a controversially awarded penalty to give them a narrow win when Kaka was fouled seemingly outside the area and rose to convert from the spot on 15 minutes.
Milan were a threat going forward with Kaka and his Brazil compatriot Ronaldinho, who on 49 minutes had a good shot saved before Chievo had good chances through Simone Bentivoglio and Davide Mandelli.
Young Milan striker Pato came on after 62 minutes, replacing veteran Filippo Inzaghi for an all-Brazilian attack and fired a good shot off a Ronaldinho feed before his midfield team mate Marek Jankulovski had two great efforts deflected late in the game.
There was plenty of thrill in Bergamo, where Napoli played with their usual grit but had Uruguay's striker Marcelo Zalayeta dismissed on 66 minutes.
Zalayeta, who had come on in the first half for the injured Argentinian German Denis, received his marching orders shortly after Brazilian Ferreira Pinto put Atalanta one up, firing home after bursting into the area.
Napoli still managed to level on 71 minutes through a spot kick converted by Slovak Marek Hamsik, but a free kick from Thomas Manfredini and a late Sergio Floccari goal gave Atalanta a deserved win.
There was disappointment among Udinese fans as their side were stunned 1-0 at home against lowly Reggina, Fiorentina also lost 1-0 away to Cagliari and Catania thanked a hat-trick from Giuseppe Mascara as they beat Torino 3-2, the same scoreline that sealed Sampdoria's win over Lecce.
Giants Juventus kept improving their standing through a 4-1 drubbing of Genoa on Thursday, Siena and Bologna drew 1-1 Sunday, while struggling giants Roma and Lazio close the weekend in a late city derby.
