(dpa) -
Alessandro Del Piero scored a hat-trick for Juventus Sunday in a 4-0 hammering
of Atalanta to all but secure the Turin's side participation in the next
Champions League.
Brazilian Kaka also notched a hat-trick as AC Milan beat Reggina 5-1. The
European champions lag four points behind Fiorentina, who Saturday beat Palermo
1-0 to retain the fourth-available qualifying berth with four games left.
Also on Saturday, second-place Roma were held to a 1-1 home
draw with Livorno, giving leaders Inter Milan a chance to open up a six-point
lead if they beat Torino late Sunday.
Juve wasted no time in Bergamo where they went three up against Atalanta in the
first half through an early header from defender Nicola Legrottaglie and two
efforts from their captain.
Del Piero added one more after the break and is now the league's third-top
scorer on 17 goals, trailing top marksman Marco Borriello of Genoa, on 19
goals, and Juve team-mate David Trezeguet.
Brazilian star Kaka shone before the home crowd in Milan's 5-1 win against
Reggina, converting two spot kicks before Paraguay's Edgar Barreto pulled one
back for the visitors on 40 minutes.
A tight-angled shot from Kaka made it 3-1 while Filippo Inzaghi and Alexandre
Pato completed the rout.
"We started well with good play and determination and scored early," Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We played well with good counter attacks
throughout the game. We are still behind (Fiorentina) but we must keep winning
and see what happens."
Sampdoria won 3-0 against Udinese with Antonio Cassano opening
the scoring before a Claudio Bellucci's brace secured a win over the Udine
guests who had Czech defender Tomas Zapotocny dismissed.
Samp remain joint-fifth with Milan, while 10-man Genoa beat Siena 1-0 and
Catania steered clear of the drop zone beating 1-0 a Lazio side who had Luciano Zauri and Ousmane Dabo dismissed.
Struggling Parma were reduced to eight men as they lost 2-1 against 10-man
Napoli, while nine-man Cagliari are better off after a 2-0 win over Empoli, who
lie last alongside Reggina and Livorno in the three-team drop zone.