MILAN: AC Milan powered to the top of Serie A with a 3-1 home win over Palermo Wednesday when previous leader Lazio lost 1-0 at Cesena. Alexandre Pato handed hosts Milan a first-half lead but Slovenian Armin Bacinovic equalized for the Sicilians after the break before a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty and Robinho sealed the victory. Massimilano Allegri's side went a point above Lazio while injury-hit champion Inter Milan, again lost ground with a 1-1 draw at Lecce. Juventus was also held to a 1-1 draw at Brescia. Champion Inter Milan dropped to fourth as it drew for the fifth time in its 11 games as Lecce came from behind to snatch a point. Diego Milito scored just his third goal of the season on 76 minutes only for Uruguayan Ruben Oliver to cancel that out three minutes later. Napoli moved up to third as Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi snatched a winner deep into injury time as they won 1-0 at Cagliari. Juventus dropped to fifth with a 1-1 draw at Brescia, whose Alessandro Diamanti pulled the scores level after Fabio Quagliarella's opener. Despite a poor start to the season, sixth-placed Roma is just five points off top now following a third win in a row. Brazilian Simplicio opened the scoring in its 3-1 win over Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico with Marco Borriello doubling it. Alberto Gilardino pulled one back but Simone Perrotta made the points safe. In other matches it was: Catania 1 Udinese 0; Chievo 0 Bari 0; Genoa 1 Bologna 0. Real avoids early exit Real Madrid avoided another embarrassing Copa del Rey exit to a lower-tier club with a 5-1 fourth-round victory over Murcia Wednesday. Real Betis joined fellow second-division club Cordoba in the next round after beating Zaragoza 2-1 to advance on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate score. Cordoba eliminated Racing Santander Tuesday when Espanyol also advanced over Valladolid.
