Thiago Motta scored twice in his first Serie A start of the season, and Inter Milan gave Leonardo a convincing victory in his debut as coach, 3-1, over Napoli on Thursday at the San Siro.

Motta scored in the second and 55th minute, and Esteban Cambiasso also scored, as Inter picked up a crucial win to start the New Year. Inter stayed 10 points behind leaders AC Milan, but has two games in hand.

Michele Pazienza scored for Napoli, which wasted a chance to climb to second and is now six points off the pace in third. Inter is seventh.

Motta got Leonardo's debut off to a perfect start, as a quick passing sequence in midfield set up the opening goal just two minutes into the game.

Goran Pandev made the initial pass to Motta, who used a quick give-and-go with Dejan Stankovic to get to the top of the 18, then hit a short return pass on a full volley into the bottom-right corner.

Pazienza equalized off a corner, as he sent a glancing header past goalie Luca Castellazzi in the 24th.

Cambiasso put Inter back in front eight minutes before half, as he raced on to the end of a Maicon cross from the right side and headed inside the right post from six yards in the 37th.

Motta sealed his brace early in the second half, heading a corner kick from 15 yards into the top-left corner in the 55th to put Inter on cruise control.

Parma 4, Juventus 1

Turin, Italy - Sebastian Giovinco scored two goals against 10-man Juventus and Hernan Crespo added his seventh goal of the season, leading Parma to a 4-1 win at the Stadio Olimpico.

Felipe Melo was sent off inside 20 minutes for Juventus, and Giovinco scored five minutes before half and three minutes after to spark Parma's win.

Nicola Legrottaglie scored Juve's lone goal 15 minutes into the second half, but Crespo scored from the penalty spot in the 62nd and Raffaele Palladino put the finishing touches on the win in stoppage time.

Juve lost for just the third time this season, and slipped eight points behind leaders AC Milan. Parma is 17 points off the pace.

AC Milan 1, Cagliari 0

Cagliari, Italy - Sidney Strasser scored his first goal five minutes from time as AC Milan solidified its grip on first place with a 1-0 win over Cagliari at Stadio San Elia.

Strasser replaced Gennaro Gattuso in the second half and the 20-year-old found the winning goal off a pass from Antonio Cassano.

AC Milan bounced back from just its third loss in Serie A, back on Dec. 18, as it won for the 12th time to extend its lead atop the standings to five points.

Cagliari is just five points above the drop zone.

Roma 4, Catania 2

Rome, Italy - Marco Borriello and Mirko Vucinic each scored a brace, with the later scoring both in the closing minutes, as Roma defeated Catania 4-2 at the Stadio Olimpico to win its third straight.

Borriello started the scoring in the fifth minute, then answered consecutive goals by Catania with his second of the match and ninth of the season just two minutes after halftime.

Vucinic scored in the 86th and 90th to seal Roma's ninth victory, and leave it just seven points off the pace of AC Milan.

Matias Auguste Silvestre and Maxi Lopez scored for Catania, which is just six points above the drop zone after its third loss in its last four.

Udinese 2, Chievo 0

Udine, Italy - Antonio Di Natale scored his league-high 11th goal as Udinese defeated Chievo, 2-0, at the Stadio Friuli despite playing almost 60 minutes with 10 men.

Alexis Sanchez scored the opening goal for Udinese and Di Natale followed with his goal in the 25th. Di Natale missed a chance to add his 12th of the season, as he missed from the penalty spot later in the half.

Giampiero Pinzi was sent off in the 33rd minute for Udinese, but Chievo failed to take advantage and is winless in five since beating Inter Milan on Nov. 21.

Bologna 1, Fiorentina 1

Bologna, Italy - Mario Santana scored in the 67th minute and Fiorentina earned a 1-1 draw at Stadio Renato Della'Ara against Bologna. Fiorentina is only five above the bottom three in 16th.

Marco Di Vaio scored his 10th goal of the season, tied for second in Serie A, for Bologna. Bologna is just one point above Fiorentina in 14th.

Palermo 3, Sampdoria 0

Palermo, Italy - Fabrizio Miccoli, Giulio Migliaccio and Massimo Maccarone all scored as Palermo defeated Sampdoria, 3-0, at the Renzo Barbera to remain just nine points off the lead. Sampdoria slipped 16 points back.

Cesena 2, Brescia 1

Brescia, Italy - Luis Jimenez and Luca Ceccarelli scored in a seven-minute run of the first half and Cesena beat Brescia, 2-1, at the Mario Rigamonti to move out of the drop zone and send the hosts into the bottom three.

Genoa 0, Lazio 0

Genoa, Italy - Second-place Lazio settled for a 0-0 draw at the Luigi Ferraris against Genoa, losing two points on leaders AC Milan. Lazio is now five behind in second. Genoa is 17 points off the pace.

Bari 1, Lecce 0

Lecce, Italy - Stefano Okaka Chuka scored in the 78th minute and Bari defeated Lecce, 1-0, at the Via del Mare. Bari, which is last, won for the first time on the road this season, pulling within one point of Lecce.