ROME (AFP) - Three goals in a vastly improved second half gave AC Milan a 3-0 win against bottom club Atalanta and cut Juventus' lead at the top of Serie A to two points.
Jon Dahl Tomasson, Kakha Kaladze and Serginho were on target at the San Siro after a difficult first 45 minutes for the defending champions.
Juventus however can restore their five point advantage if they win at home to Roma on Thursday.
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said he was hoping Roma could do his side a favour by becoming the first team to beat Juve this season.
"At times, football holds many surprises and it's obvious what I'm hoping for," he said.
Inter Milan meanwhile threw away a two goal lead before drawing 2-2 at dark horses Lecce, while Cagliari climbed to fourth thanks to a last-gasp win 2-1 at home to struggling Parma.
Juventus have 19 points from seven matches, while Milan are second on 17. Lecce, who dropped to third, have 15 points, two more than Cagliari and three more than Inter.
Chievo dropped one place to fifth after seeing their unbeaten record come to an abrupt end with a 2-0 defeat at home to Sampdoria, while Fiorentina, with caretaker coach Sergio Buso in charge following Monday's sacking of Emiliano Mondonico, won 2-1 at Reggina.
Livorno came from behind to snatch a 2-1 victory at Palermo, while Udinese and Siena secured 1-0 wins away to Bologna and Brescia respectively. Lazio halted their poor run of results by defeating Messina 2-0.
Inter coach Roberto Mancini lamented his team's sixth draw of the season which underlined their failure to kill off their opponents.
"We must learn how to close out matches," he said.
"Even when Lecce drew level, we showed a lot of character and created lots of chances, but unfortunately they didn't go in - I'm sad for them."
Milan struggled to break down a resolute Atalanta defence until Tomasson found a way through with a low right-footed strike soon after half time.
Georgian defender Kaladze tucked home Andriy Shevchenko's cutback to calm Milan's nerves before Brazilian wingback Serginho wrapped up three crucial points in stoppage time with a superb solo effort.
Inter tore into Lecce immediately and their ambitious approach paid dividends in the fourth minute in Puglia.
Esteban Cambiasso broke down the left and fed Obafemi Martins, who was lurking close to the byline. The Nigeria international spun quickly and crossed to the backpost where Adriano stole in unmarked to bury a firm header into the net for his sixth goal of the season.
Martins increased Inter's advantage in the 34th minute, exchanging passes with Cambiasso before drilling home an angled shot.
Valeri Bojinov hauled Lecce back into contention two minutes later, his left-footed curler from outside the box finding the top corner.
And the 18-year-old Bulgarian doubled his tally soon after the break, squeezing the ball in from an acute angle with little of the goal to aim at.
Inter will be kicking themselves not to have taken home all three points as Adriano missed an easy chance late on, blasting over the bar from eight yards with the goal at his mercy.
10/27/2004 - 21:25 GMT - AFP