Del Piero does it again for Juventus

Juventus made the most of FC Internazionale Milano's Saturday draw with Cagliari Calcio to close the gap at the top of Serie A to four points with a 1-0 defeat of AC Siena while AS Roma drew 2-2 with AC Milan on David Beckham's Italian league debut.

Del Piero winner
After reigning champions Inter dropped points following the end of the winter break last night, Alessandro Del Piero made sure Juventus would not follow suit with an excellent 34th-minute free-kick and Alex Manninger, in goal for the injured Gianluigi Buffon, had an inspired game to keep out his former Siena team-mates. Milan are now five points behind Juve after Mirko Vučinić and Pato traded goals in Rome. Vučinić struck midway through the first half but Pato turned the game with two quickfire goals early in the second period before the Montenegrin striker equalised with a header to deny Milan maximum points in the first game of Beckham's loan.

Napoli rise
SSC Napoli are up into the top four after Christian Maggio struck with ten minutes left for a 1-0 win against Calcio Catania, Marek Hamšík having earlier missed a penalty. ACF Fiorentina, fourth at Christmas, fell a point adrift of Napoli following a 2-1 home loss to US Lecce, who are out of the bottom three at the expense of Torino FC, beaten 3-0 on Saturday at Genoa CFC, now level with the Viola.

Pandev treble
Bologna FC moved a point in front of Torino thanks to a 1-1 home draw with bottom side AC Chievo Verona. The basement club are three points behind Reggina Calcio, beaten 3-2 at home by sixth-placed S.S. Lazio courtesy of a Goran Pandev hat-trick. US Città Palermo rose to seventh with a 3-2 win of their own against Atalanta BC, who had cancelled out a two-goal lead before Edison Cavani's 81st-minute striker, UC Sampdoria came away from Udinese Calcio with a 1-1 draw.