MILAN. Dec II AS Roma continued Io lead the rest of the- Italian First Division a merrv dance with

a 2-1 \ i< lory fiver Udinese at the Olympic Stadium setting the in up nicely for forthcoming fixtures wfth C|(y rjVaLs Laz|O and Juventus, reports AFP.

Only Juventus really kept the pressure up on the capital duh with a 1-0 victory over Parma tn Turin, secured bv a solitary ■ goal by defender Ciro Ferrara after 14 minutes

I he remainder of the chasi-ing pack conceded more ground to Roma who now look set to (jr.ih (he title of winter champi-"i‘s .i meaningless prize - be-stowed on the team leading the standings at Christmas.

But AC Milan's Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko threw down •n< gauntlet to Roma's Argen-tiniaii idol Gabriel Batistuta with his two goals in the 4-1 defeat of Lecce establishing him on a level with Batistuta who

had to settle for one goal against Udinese.

Roma looked to have sewed up (he match after 35 minutes hut m the end had to hang on against 10-man Udinese. the early season pacesetters.

Their flptden couple of Francesco Totti and Batistuta had them 2-0 to the good before Udlnese's Roberto Muzzi pulled one back on the stroke of the interval

Totti missed a penalty hi the second period but Roma's job was macle easier when Brazilian Valentin Alberto was dismissed for Udinese.

Juventus were the only team to show anv interest In staying in tone h with Roma with Ferrara's goal settling the match at the Stadlo Delle Alpl and lending further credence to their coach Carlo Ancelotti's boast that his side will be In the title race until (he very last day of (he season

With Juventus due to visit Roma on December 23 that sets up a potential classic at the Olympic Stadium.

Roma's co-tenants at the Olympic Stadium Lazio - the defending champions • restored morale with a 4-1 spanking of V ic enza in front of the, home-fans of their victims

-AFPjjjioLo

i,That result wifi Kelp Veep Sven Goran Eriksson in his post - there has been pressure on the Swede to hasten his departure to take the England job in the summer after jwxir recent from, notably in the

('hampions League.

Pavel Nedved of the Czech Republic scored twice and Ar-geihiiiian Ihinan Crespo one as the visitors swept to a 3-0 h ad before- Sierra Leone striker Mohamed Kaifon pulled one back but Chilean Marcelo Salas struck two minutes from time to restore the three-goal margin.

Ecpiallv impressive were Milan who dispatched Lecce 4 -1 at the San Siro where the visitors had beaten Inter Milan earlier in the season

Brazilian Leonardo set the ball rolling after 19 minutes only for Alessandro Conticchlo to restore parity for the un-(asliionablc Lecce but then Shevchenko came up with two goals, the second from a penalty.

Spaniard Jose Mari turned a romp into a rout with (he fourth in the closing minutes.

Atalanta are showing signs of flagging after their superb early season run that established them as unlikely challengers.

They found Perugia impossible to break down and had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Ber-g<»mo.

Bologna also faltered in their pursuit of Roma when they succumbed 2-0.

Antonio Bellavista o(iened the scoring and then Antonio Cassano doubled the lead just after the Interval, further putting himself in the shop window ahead of the opening of the winter transfer market.

The teenager is being tracked by a host pf leading Sehe A clubs notably Inter Milan - Cassano knows Inter c oach Marco Tardelli well from playing under the 1982 World Cup hero when he was Italy under-21 coach.

Francesco Lima of Bologna was dismissed in that match.

On Sunday evenings game between this season’s underachievers. 10-man Fiorentina beat Inter Milan 2-0 in Flor-

Fonner Italian international Enrico Chiesa gave the home side the lead after 49 minutes but then had Paolo Vanoli sent off two minutes from time for fouling inter substitute Robbie Keane.

Portuguese playmaker Rui Costa made the game safe for Fiorentina however with a goal in injury time.

On Saturday Napoli's Fabio Pecchia hit an equaliser to give his side a 1 -1 draw with fellow strugglers Brescia who had taken the lead througli Stefano Diana.

And ailing Regglna ended a run of eight consecutive defeats when Lorenzo Stovinl equalised in injury- time after Emiliano Bonazzoli had given visitors Verona a first-minute lead.

That match was played at Catania because of recent crowd trouble by Reggina fans.