European champions AC Milan ended Serie A leaders AS Roma's unbeaten run on Tuesday, Andriy Shevchenko scoring both goals in an impressive 2-1 victory in the capital.
A thundering 25-metre strike from European footballer of the year Pavel Nedved gave Italian champions Juventus a 1-0 win over Perugia moving them within three points of AS Roma.
Roma, who were unbeaten in their previous 14 games this season, still lead Serie A on 36 points from Juventus and Milan on 33, although Milan have a game in hand.
Fourth-placed Inter Milan 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 strike for the club.
But Lazio, who had won their last three games, suffered a setback, losing 2-1 to Reggina after taking a first-half lead through Fabio Liverani.
Former European player of the year Roberto Baggio scored twice for Brescia in their 4-2 win over Siena.
COMMANDING DISPLAY
Milan delivered a commanding display at the Olympic stadium with a performance and result that indicated the race for the honours could well remain tight until the end.
Milan took the lead in the 25th minute with a beautifully constructed goal. Clarence Seedorf picked out Shevchenko with a perfect cross-field pass which the Ukrainian chested down and expertly lofted over Roma keeper Ivan Pelizzoli.
Fabio Capello's Roma fought back to level just before the break when Antonio Cassano tapped in at the back post.
But Serie A's top scorer Shevchenko was in devastating form and he grabbed the winner with his 14th goal of the season, latching on to a fine pass from Rui Costa and rifling it past Pelizzoli.
"I am delighted above all for the team," Shevchenko told Sky Sport.
"We were missing some key players and we showed great character here. We have nothing to prove to anyone. We are a great team,"
WINLESS PERUGIA
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.
The Czech surged from midfield and unleashed a fierce right-foot drive from outside the area that whistled past Perugia's Australian keeper Zeljko Kalac.
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 also had to endure some difficulty before finally running out comfortable winners against Lecce.
The visitors went ahead in the third minute with a Cesare Bovo header after the Inter defence stood and watched a corner bounce across the area.
Argentine striker Julio 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 Ivan Cordoba put Alberto Zaccheroni's side ahead on the hour, meeting an Emre Belozoglu corner with an angled 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.
TURNING POINT
Lazio looked set to continue their recent run of good results after Liverani converted a Giuseppe Favalli cross in the 16th minute.
But the turning point came when striker Roberto Muzzi was dismissed in the 40th minute for a second bookable offence and Reggina took full advantage after the break.
David Di Michele's superb diving header put the Calabrians on level terms in the 59th minute before a powerful headed goal from Francesco Cozza 10 minutes later ended Roman hopes.
Lazio ended the game with nine men after Massimo Oddo was dismissed in injury time.
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