By DPA,
Rome : Veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi’s hat-trick helped AC Milan breeze to a 5-1 win over guests Torino, to tie on points with second-placed Juventus in football’s Serie A.
The evergreen Inzaghi, 35, nodded home a corner kick in the 13th minute Sunday night, repeated his feat in the 37th off an assist from Englishman David Beckham and flicked home on the hour off Ronaldinho’s deep feed.
Juve drew 1-1 at home Saturday with 10 men against leaders Inter Milan, who are close to securing a fourth straight Serie A title with a 10-point lead with six games left.
Kaka converted a spot kick for 4-0 before Ivan Franceschini’s consolation goal and Massimo Ambrosini’s closing effort.
Earlier Sunday, Fiorentina squandered a chance to occupy a Champions League berth as they lost 3-1 at Udinese and failed to take fourth place from Genoa.
Genoa remained two points clear of Fiorentina despite Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to Lazio. Roma nourish hopes for a European berth after a 3-2 win over 10-man Lecce.
Udinese sharpshooter Gaetano D’Agostino converted a penalty kick in the 47th and fired home a free kick in the 69th to sink Fiorentina after an opening goal in the ninth minute by Ghana midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah.
The Florence side lacked offensive power and only managed to pull one back from Dario Dainelli in the 67th minute before international Alberto Gilardino nodded against the post.
In Rome, an inspired Francesco Totti was twice on target for Roma as they continue their pursuit of a Champions League berth five points adrift of fourth place.
Totti, the captain, tapped in a rebound early on after a free kick by Julio Baptista and scored from the spot in the 59th to secure the Roma win.
Second-from-last Lecce fought from two down to 2-2 but had Luca Ariatti dismissed after Totti’s winner and remained in the three-team drop zone between tail-enders Reggina and Bologna, who trail Torino by one point.
Relegation is less of a problem for Chievo thanks to a brace from Sergio Pellissier in a 2-0 win at Siena. Cagliari won 2-0 against Napoli, Catania beat Sampdoria 2-0, and Reggina won 1-0 at Atalanta.
Bologna and new coach Giuseppe Papadopulo remain in trouble after a 4-1 defeat at Palermo in a game that saw Sergio Volpi dismissed before Marco Di Vaio scored to draw level on 20 goals as league top striker with Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Inter.