ITALY/Serie A: Andriy Shevchenko scored twice to help European champions AC Milan inflict the first defeat of the season on Serie A leaders AS Roma with a 2-1 victory at the Olympic stadium last night.
Shevchenko produced a delicate lob in the 25th minute to put Milan ahead after chesting down a superb cross-field pass from Clarence Seedorf.
Antonio Cassano brought Roma level on the stroke of half-time with a close-range finish but Ukrainian Shevchenko restored Milan's lead in the 63rd minute with a clinical strike after he had been set up by Rui Costa.
Roma, who were unbeaten in their previous 14 games, still lead Serie A on 36 points from Juventus and Milan on 33, although Milan have one game in hand on their rivals.
Earlier in the day, a thundering 25-metre strike from European Footballer of the Year Pavel Nedved gave champions Juventus a 1-0 win over Perugia, moving them within three points of Roma.
Juve, bidding for a third successive title, struggled against winless Perugia but Nedved, who showed off his Golden Ball award before the game, made the difference once again.
Alessandro Del Piero hit the post for Juve five minutes after the break before Perugia broke away and hit the woodwork themselves through English forward Jay Bothroyd.
Inter Milan move up to third after they came from behind to beat Lecce 3-1 at the San Siro with second-half goals from Julio Ricardo Cruz, Ivan Cordoba and Christian Vieri's 100th goal for the club.
The visitors went ahead in the third minute through a Cesare Bovo header after the Inter defence stood and watched a corner bounce across the area.
Argentine striker Ricardo Cruz brought Inter level five minutes after the break with a well-struck free-kick which flew in off the inside of the post.
Colombian Cordoba then put Alberto Zaccheroni's side ahead on the hour, meeting an Emre Belozoglu corner with a header at the near post.
Five minutes from the end, Vieri raced clear of the defence and rounded Lecce keeper Vukasin Poleksic before slotting the ball home to secure the win.
Lazio, who had won their last three games, lost 2-1 to Reggina after taking a first-half lead through Fabio Liverani.
Roberto Baggio scored twice for Brescia in their 4-2 win over Siena.
