Ronaldinho piles pressure on Juve

TWO GOALS from Ronaldinho helped AC Milan to a 3-0 win at toothless Juventus last night which piled the pressure on Juve’s rookie coach Ciro Ferrara.

Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo, much derided for his poor form since a pre-season move from Fiorentina, failed to clear Andrea Pirlo’s corner on the half hour and Alessandro Nesta could not miss at the far post.

Ronaldinho netted two simple goals in the second half.

Second-placed Milan have a game in hand and lie eight points behind leaders Inter Milan, who beat Siena 4-3 on Saturday.

Napoli earlier surged to fourth spot, level on points with faltering Juventus in third, after Argentine striker German Denis sealed a 1-0 home win over Sampdoria.

Denis came on in the first half for injured compatriot Ezequiel Lavezzi and put in a man-of-the-match performance for coach Walter Mazzarri who left Samp in May.

“At the start we struggled as they are a good side. It was an important goal,” Denis said. “We have a lot of options now, there is always someone who is ready to come on,” he said, referring to the raft of signings made under film-producer president Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Napoli have gone 12 games unbeaten under Mazzarri who replaced Roberto Donadoni in October and is threatening to return the club to the glory days when they won the 1987 and 1990 scudettos with Diego Maradona.

Early leaders Sampdoria, now 12th, are dropping like a stone by contrast.

Fiorentina, who like Napoli went bust in the previous decade, also continued their pursuit of the fourth Champions League spot they bagged last term with a 2-1 win over 10-man Bari.

The visitors went ahead through Paulo Barreto but Fiorentina prevailed thanks to Adrian Mutu’s header and a scuffed winner from substitute Jose Castillo who was later dismissed for a wild tackle and has been linked with a move to Bari.

Fiorentina have a game in hand and lie three points behind Napoli while fifth-placed AS Roma are two above the Florence club following Saturday’s 1-0 win over Chievo.

Palermo are level with Fiorentina after Edinson Cavani’s second-half penalty secured a 1-0 home win over strugglers Atalanta who are poised to appoint Lino Mutti as Antonio Conte’s successor as coach, according to media reports.