Udinese top in Italy after Milan only draw

Udinese have gone top of Itay’s Serie A after a 2-1 home win over Chievo, with champions Milan missing out on top spot after being held 2-2 at Bologna.

With unbeaten Juventus playing Roma on Monday, Sunday gave either Udinese or Milan the chance to head the table – and it was the former who took advantage to move a point clear of Juve, with Milan and Lazio joint third a further point behind.

Captain Antonio Di Natale put Udinese ahead midway through the second half when he headed home Mauricio Isla’s cross.

Klose keeps Lazio in title contention

Another header, this time from Dusan Busta, doubled the home side’s advantage and they held on for the three points despite Chievo pulling a goal back with Alberto Paloschi’s curling strike.

An incident packed match in Bologna saw the home side go ahead after 11 minutes when Marco Di Vaio lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Marco Amelia after breaking Milan’s offside trap.

However, Milan leveled just five minutes later when Clarence Seedorf smashed home a superb strike after great work from Kevin-Prince Boateng.

Milan took the lead in the 72nd minute when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was fouled in the area by Andrea Raggi, and the Swede scored the resulting penalty.

But, just a minute later, Bologna rescued a point when Alessandro Diamanti fired home.

In the late match, Napoli dropped more points on the leaders when they were held to a 1-1 draw at second bottom Novara, leaving them nine points off the pace.

Ivan Radovanovic gave Novara in the 70th minute but Blerim Dzemaili rescued a late point for the visitors.

With the top five in Spain’s La Liga all in action on Saturday, sixth-placed Malaga were the highest team in action on Sunday.

However, they wasted a chance to move above Sevilla into fifth after being held to a 1-1 home draw by Osasuna.

The visitors went ahead in the 33rd minute when Ibrahima Balde scored from close range after a corner wasn’t cleared.

But substitute Juanmi Jimenez rescued a point for Malaga midway through the second half when he side-footed home a Sergio Sanchez cross.

Elsewhere in Spain, Real Zaragoza remain bottom of the table after a Victor Casadesus goal gave visitors Mallorca a 1-0 victory, while Sporting Gijon have moved out of the relegation places after a 3-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano – who slumped to their fourth successive defeat.

Meanwhile, struggling Villarreal needed a Marco Ruben equalizer with 20 minutes remaining to earn a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad.