AC MILAN shook off their mid week 3-0 3-0 UEFA Cup defeat by Bordeaux and the absence of seven first team players to thrash Parma 3-0 yesterday and take a giant step toward their fourth league title in five years.
With title rivals Fiorentina losing their 15 match unbeaten record in a 1-0 home defeat to Juventus, the league leaders now lie eight points clear in serie A with eight matches to play.
Before the match the Milan team coach was pelted with stones outside the San Siro. Inside the stadium, terraces were lined with banners and flags proclaiming "shame on you". However, on the pitch, Roberto Baggio set Milan on the way, making amends for an 11th minute penalty miss by turning home Dejan Savicevic's 49nd minute cross from just inside the area. Straight after the break, veteran midfielder Roberto Donadoni put his side two up completing a fine solo run with an unstoppable shot into Luca Bucci's net.
Savicevic capped a fine individual performance with Milan's third in the 71st minute - a crisp, diagonal shot that rounded off a textbook counter attack.
Milan's victory, took maximum advantage of Fiorentina's surprise setback at home to Juventus - courtesy of an own goal from Lorenzo Amoruso. Within two minutes, Fiorentina were reduced to 10 man by the dismissal of Michele Serena - a double blow from which they rarely looked like recovering.
Roy Hodgson's Inter moved into fourth place, their highest position this season, after a 2-1 win at Udinese.
Davide Fontolan's superb 23rd minute strike and Brazilian, Roberto Carlos's 64th minute penalty secured Inter's sixth successive victory - achieved despite the 45th minute dismissal of England's Paul Ince for an off the ball incident.
In Spain, the league title race was thrown wide open after Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 at home with struggling Zaragoza to reduce their lead at the top to six points over Barcelona.
The Catalan side won 3-1 at bottom club Salamanca while third placed Valencia, a further two points back, kept their hopes alive with an impressive 4-0 away win against, Compostela.
Meanwhile, Ajax Amsterdam moved closer to the Dutch title by beating third placed Feynoord Rotterdam 2-0. Closest challengers PS V Eindhoven lost 1-0 at Groningen.
Ajax opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Finland's Jari Litmanen scored from 20 yards. Then nine minutes into the second half, a cross from Litmanen was tipped away by goalkeeper, Ed de Goey, but Patrick Kluivert was on hand to clinch the points for Ajax.
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