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Udinese thrashed by rampant Milan
![]() Shevchenko was in devastating form as Milan kept their slim title hopes alive ROME, Italy -- Andriy Shevchenko struck twice in a 4-0 demolition of Udinese to keep AC Milan in second in Serie A. The result gave Milan 67 points from 30 matches, 10 points behind Juventus, who beat Livorno 3-1 on Saturday. Inter Milan remained two points behind their city rivals in third after two goals by Alvaro Recoba and one by Luis Figo earned a 3-1 victory over Lazio at the San Siro stadium. Fiorentina (59 points) completed a clean sweep of wins for the top four when late goals by second-half substitutes Luca Toni and Giampaolo Pazzini earned a 3-1 win against 10-man Ascoli. Milan gave no hint of the rout to come in the early stages at Udinese. Midfielder Andrea Pirlo rattled the crossbar with a free kick in the seventh minute but it was Udinese that dominated for long periods of the first half. Milan needed a howler by home keeper Morgan De Sanctis to break the deadlock just before halftime. The Italy reserve failed to control a routine backpass and the ball rolled into the path of Ukraine striker Shevchenko, who fired home. Having ridden their luck, Milan stamped their authority on the match with three goals in 11 minutes, starting just after the hour mark when an Alessandro Costacurta pass put striker Alberto Gilardino through to score. Gilardino then turned provider with a backheel to set up Shevchenko to grab his second before Clarence Seedorf fired in a right-footed shot from the edge of the area to seal the win. Inter took the lead in the 37th minute when Alvaro Recoba lofted a pass across the area to Portugal's Luis Figo, who trapped the ball, turned defender Luciano Zauri and curled a shot in at the far post. Inter's second goal owed a lot to good fortune. A header by Lazio defender Massimo Oddo back to keeper Angelo Peruzzi fell short, allowing Recoba to rush in and nod the loose ball home. Goran Pandev pulled one back for the visitors in the 54th minute when he turned Zauri's cross in from close range, but Uruguay's Recoba restored the home side's two-goal advantage, running on to Juan Sebastian Veron's defence-splitting pass. Of the top four, Fiorentina were made to work hardest for the three points and managed to subdue Ascoli only after defender Gianluca Commotto was sent off for a second bookable offence 15 minutes from the end. Having beaten Roma in the last round of matches, Ascoli looked set to claim their second big scalp when Maurizio Domizzi headed them ahead from a free kick just before halftime. Fiorentina midfielder Cristian Brocchi equalised shortly after the restart and the twice Italian champions had to wait until the 82nd minute before Toni, back from an ankle injury, headed Manuel Pasqual's cross in at the far post. Pazzini wrapped up the win a minute from time when he headed in from a corner.
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