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Sunday 21 September 2008

Inter turn on style to stay top of Serie A

MILAN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Inter Milan produced a masterclass of attacking play when they moved to the top of Serie A with a 3-1 win at Torino on Sunday.

The Italian champions had been finding their feet in Jose Mourinho's first few games in charge but they outclassed Torino thanks to an own goal by Marco Pisano, Maicon's superb shot and a neat finish from Zlatan Ibrahimovic after a quick break.

Elvis Abbruscato grabbed a goal back for the home side and Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar made a good stop late on but his side were never in danger.

Injury-hit Juventus also made it seven points from three games with new striker Amauri sealing a 1-0 win at Cagliari with his second goal in two league games on 39 minutes.

The Brazil-born forward crashed home Vincenzo Iaquinta's layoff as the striking pair showed they could fill the boots of injured duo David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero.

Juve suffered a new blow, however, when keeper Gianluigi Buffon went off with a thigh knock and his deputy Alex Manninger produced a smart stop near the end to secure victory.

Sardinians Cagliari have lost all three games this term.

"Amauri was a great buy, he works for his team mates. The players that played today did well even if they don't play as much. They are great professionals," Juve coach Claudio Ranieri told Sky, adding that Buffon would undergo tests.

Forward Alberto Gilardino continued his rich vein of form by scoring in Fiorentina's 1-0 victory over promoted Bologna.

The close-season signing from AC Milan headed in from close range to take his tally to five from six matches in all competitions this term.

AC Milan sealed their first win of the Serie A season when they overpowered early pacesetters Lazio 4-1 in an enthralling game at the San Siro.

Milan, only fifth last term, had lost their opening two league games to pile the pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti.

He took a gamble for Lazio's visit by leaving Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko on the bench but the decision soon looked to have paid off when Clarence Seedorf scored on eight minutes.

The Dutchman rifled high into the net after his attempted pass rebounded back into his path off Lazio's Cristian Ledesma.

The visitors always looked dangerous on the break, however, and striker Mauro Zarate levelled the scores with a snapshot inside the near post for his fourth league goal this term.

The hosts stepped up the pace and were back in front when right back Gianluca Zambrotta unleashed a stunning 30-metre drive into the corner 10 minutes before the break.

Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato added a third with a diving header early in the second period before compatriot Kaka fired in beautifully from a distance.

AS Roma, runners-up last season, recorded their first win of the campaign on Saturday when they beat Reggina 3-0 at home.

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