AC Milan took their time but eventually eased past bottom side Novara 3-0 yesterday to stay on the tail of leaders Juventus, while third-placed Udinese also won.
Champions Milan, who needed extra time to beat Novara 2-1 in the Italian cup in midweek, were fearing another difficult encounter at their near neighbours after having two first-half efforts cleared off the line.
However, Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic emphatically broke the deadlock 12 minutes into the second period following Massimo Ambrosini’s assist. Robinho doubled the advantage and Ibrahimovic rounded off the scoring late on.
Juve, threatening to win the scudetto for the first time since their 2006 demotion for match-fixing, confirmed themselves as leaders halfway through the season with a 2-0 win at Atalanta on Saturday, but Milan remain just a point behind.
Surprise contenders Udinese are two points further back after a 2-1 victory at home to Catania.
Seventh-placed Napoli, an outside bet for the title for many pundits when the season began, continued their inconsistent Serie A form with a 1-1 draw at lowly Siena, where in-form Goran Pandev again saved the Champions League last 16 qualifiers. Edinson Cavani also missed a penalty for Napoli.
In other results, Palermo thumped Genoa 5-3, Alberto Paloschi put Chievo 2-0 up but Lecce grabbed a draw, while Bologna against Parma ended in a dire 0-0 stalemate.
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