Udinese and Napoli both win to stay atop Serie A

Source: Agencies  |   2008-10-30  |     ONLINE EDITION

UDINESE and Napoli won to extend their surprising runs atop the Serie A yesterday, while Inter Milan dropped behind following a 0-0 draw at Fiorentina.

Udinese beat Catania 2-0 with goals from Chile forward Alexis Sanchez and Italy forward Fabio Quagliarella. Argentine striker German Denis racked a hat trick as Napoli defeated last-place Reggina 3-0 to celebrate the reopening of the curves at San Paolo Stadium.

"Everyone should fear Napoli for the way we're playing right now," Napoli coach Edy Reja said. "If we continue performing at this level anything is possible.

"I said at the start that (Denis) was going to be a key player for Napoli, considering the 37 goals he scored in Argentina. But today (Marek) Hamsik was really extraordinary, providing two assists like only he knows how."

Napoli next visits AC Milan, which beat Siena 2-1 with Filippo Inzaghi scoring once and earning a penalty that Kaka converted. After dropping its opening two games, Milan has gone unbeaten in its last seven, winning six.

The closest Inter came to scoring was when Amantino Mancini hit the crossbar five minutes in. Inter also drew 0-0 against Genoa at the weekend.

"I'm going home content tonight," Inter coach Jose Mourinho said. "I can't be satisfied with the result, but my squad played tough, and that's what counts. We haven't won the last two games, but we haven't lost either. I think it's only fair to give some merit to Genoa, to Fiorentina for how they played us."

Udinese and Napoli lead with 20 points each, 1 more than Milan, followed by Inter with 18 and Fiorentina with 17.

Juventus has 15 points after Pavel Nedved scored twice in a 2-1 win over Bologna. It was Juve's second straight win after going a month without a victory.

Also, it was: Chievo Verona 1, Lazio 2 Genoa 2, Cagliari 1 Lecce 1, Palermo 1 and Torino 2, Atalanta 1.