Competition in Serie A has heated up on Sunday as Udinese, Inter Milan and Napoli, the top three respectively, shared top spot. Title holders Inter failed to secure their third successive league after being held to a goalless draw by Genoa. A sole point would have been enough for the defending champions to stay one point ahead of their chasers, but their 10-men opponents clinched a hard-fought draw. The match was ill-tempered and witnessed a multitude of cautions for both sides in addition to a red card handed for Genoa's Domenico Criscito. Udinese moved top after compounding Roma's misery with a 3-1 victory. Pasquale Marino's men, who now have 17 points, enjoy a superior goal difference over Napoli and Inter. Roma, who suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat to Inter last week, have been stumbling for quite a while, which paved the way for the home side to narrowly secure the top spot. An Antonio Flores strike midway through the first half in addition to a brace from Antonio Di Natale either side of the interval condemned Roma to another defeat. The Giallorossi scored a consolation through skipper Francesco Totti on 74 minutes. Meanwhile, early pacesetters Lazio slumped to their second consecutive defeat after losing to Napoli 1-0, thanks to Sebastiano Siviglia's own goal. Napoli trail Udinese and Inter Milan by few goals. Elsewhere, Brazilian scoring sensation Kaka led AC Milan to an away 1-0 victory over Atalanta, to keep the Rossoneri right behind the joint leaders with 16 points.
