Kaka goal keeps Milan to the fore
 |  Milan scorer Kaka attempts to round Pisano of Sampdoria. |
| |
ROME, Italy -- AC Milan hung on for a 1-0 win over Sampdoria in Serie A on Sunday with a 65th minute header from Brazilian Kaka, while title rivals Juventus kept pace with a late winner at Chievo.
Milan and Juventus are locked together on 63 points after the 28th round of matches.
It was a nervous finale for Milan, with Sampdoria going close to a late equalizer when Francesco Flachi's shot was cleared off the line by Jaap Stam.
David Di Michele scored a hat-trick for Udinese as they enjoyed a shock 5-1 win at Palermo while Gianfranco Zola inspired Cagliari to a 3-0 victory over AS Roma -- scoring his side's opener and creating the second.
On Saturday, third-placed Inter Milan drew 1-1 at Lazio.
In other matches, bottom club Atalanta edged fellow strugglers Parma 1-0, Bologna drew 1-1 with Siena, Livorno beat relegation-threatened Brescia 3-2 and Messina won 2-1 at local rivals Reggina.
Chances were few and far between in the first half at the San Siro, but Milan came closest to breaking the deadlock when Manuel Rui Costa's deflected drive struck the crossbar.
Sampdoria were also denied by the woodwork in the 62nd minute. Belarussian striker Vitaly Kutuzov turned sharply in the box and fired in an angled shot that rattled the post.
Milan, who knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League on Tuesday, broke Sampdoria's resistance three minutes later.
Pirlo picked out Kaka whose firm header gave Francesco Antonioli no chance.
Sampdoria almost nicked an equalizer four minutes from time when Flachi rounded Nelson Dida and shot towards goal, but Dutch defender Stam blocked the Italy international's effort to preserve Milan's slender lead.
Defeat for Sampdoria left the Genoa club in fourth place on 47 points, behind Inter Milan on goal difference.
Controversial win
Juve's win was controversial as Chievo had a perfectly good goal ruled out five minutes after half-time.
Sergio Pelissier broke free and hammered a right-footed shot that hit the underside of the crossbar and clearly crossed the line before bouncing back into play.
Referee Gianluca Paparesta consulted his linesman who saw things differently and said the ball had bounced on the goalline.
Slow-motion television replays confirmed that the whole ball was behind the line by about a yard.
Having been let off the hook, Juve rubbed salt into Chievo's wounds in the 87th minute when Ruben Olivera pounced from close range after the home defence had failed to clear a high ball.
The Uruguyuan was then sent offf for receiving his second yellow card, but his dismissal could not influence the final outcome.
Reuters contributed to this report.
