David Beckham made his competitive debut in Serie A, playing 89 minutes in AC Milan's 2-2 draw with AS Roma on Sunday, and Juventus closed the gap on leader Inter Milan to four points with a 1-0 victory over Siena. Beckham failed to score in his first match on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, but Alexander Pato managed to get two at Stadio Olimpico to help Milan into third place with 34 points - five behind Juventus and nine behind Inter. Mirko Vucinic put Roma in the lead with a goal in the 22nd minute. John Arne Riise crossed from the left, none of the Milan defense reacted and the Montenegrin rounded Marek Jankulovski to lift the ball over goalkeeper Christian Abbiati. Roma held the lead until halftime, but Milan came out and hit back immediately. Kaka found some space on the left of the penalty area and played the ball across the face of the goal for Pato to score his seventh league goal of the season. Five minutes later, Pato added another when he burst past Philippe Mexes on the left, cut into the penalty area and placed the ball over Roma goalkeeper Doni. As the match continued, Roma took control and started to have the better of the exchanges. Eventually it was rewarded with an equalizer when Vucinic headed in Matteo Brighi's cross. However, with Inter slipping up on Saturday by drawing 1-1 with Cagliari, the result was more important than the performance. Inter Milan leads the league with 43 points, followed by Juventus with 39, Milan with 34 points and Napoli with 33. Napoli was another team which made a sluggish return after the winter break, but eventually moved into the Champions League qualification places by beating Catania 1-0. Napoli's win put it ahead of Fiorentina, which lost to Lecce 2-1. Lazio returned from the break in good form, beating Reggina 3-2 with Goran Pandev scoring a hat trick. Also Sunday, it was; Bologna 1, Chievo Verona 1; Palermo 3, Atalanta 2; and Udinese 1, Sampdoria 1. Raul marks 500th game In Madrid, Raul Gonzalez marked his 500th Spanish league game for Real Madrid with a goal Sunday in the two-time defending champion's 3-0 victory over Mallorca, and leader Barcelona needed two late goals to ensure a 3-2 win at last-place Osasuna. The 31-year-old Spanish striker, who is only the sixth player to reach the milestone, shook his marker in the 17th minute and used a deft backheel touch to redirect Gonzalo Higuain's centering pass to make it 2-0 with his 212th league goal. Higuain had played Arjen Robben into space down the right for the opening goal in the third minute as the Netherlands forward coolly slid a left-footed shot under goalkeeper Dudu Aouate. Sergio Ramos added the third in the 66th by volleying Fernando Gago's precise cross past Aouate as Madrid joined Sevilla in second place with 35 points after its third straight win under coach Juande Ramos. Juan Arango volleyed over from close-range in the 55th for Mallorca, which remained in 19th place. Also, Fernando Llorente scored two goals, including the second-half winner, as Athletic Bilbao rallied for a 3-2 victory at Atletico Madrid. Atletico stayed even with Villarreal and Deportivo La Coruna at 30 points. Also Sunday, it was: Real Betis 1, Malaga 2; Numancia 2, Getafe 0; Racing Santander 1, Recreativo Huelva 1; Sporting Gijon 2, Valladolid 1; and Espanyol 2, Almeria 2.
