MILAN, Oct 31 (Reuters) - AC Milan's Diego Moreira claimed one goal and two assists as his side took local bragging rights and three precious points with a 3-1 victory over Inter Milan in their Serie A clash on Saturday, while AS Roma enjoyed a 5-2 victory at Udinese.
In a week when Milan and Inter announced they would build a new shared 71,500-seater stadium to replace the San Siro, Milan’s fast start earned the win that lifts them into fourth place, four points behind leaders Lazio and Inter who have 25.
The result means Lazio can move three points clear of Inter when they host Cagliari on Sunday. Roma are third on 24 points.
Milan made the perfect start as Christian Pulisic headed their opener after four minutes before Adrien Rabiot added a second six minutes later. Inter pulled a goal back through Alessandro Bastoni in the 22nd and the momentum was with them.
The next goal was always going to be crucial and it went to Milan as Moreira scored with a superb free-kick just before halftime to help his side to a fourth straight win over Inter.
Roma were 4-0 up in 37 minutes at Udinese as they overwhelmed the hosts, who are second-bottom on five points.
Bryan Cristante headed the first goal after 10 minutes, before Matias Soule and Donyell Malen struck the woodwork.
Rodrigo Mora netted the second in the 31st minute after being set up by Cristante, and two minutes later Malen scored his eighth Serie A goal of the season.
Evan Ndicka headed the fourth from a corner before halftime after which Udinese mounted something of a comeback. Nicolo Zaniolo and Matteo Palma scored for the hosts but Daniele Ghilardi added a fifth, his first Serie A goal, for Roma.
"If we play like this there is a chance," Cristante said. "The league is not easy and it's nice to stay in (the title race). We are scoring a lot and that is very important," .
Bologna climbed to ninth with a third successive league win thanks to a 2-1 victory over Monza, their first home success since April.
Tommaso Pobega and Federico Bernardeschi netted for Bologna, after the visitors converted an early penalty through Gustavo Varela, the top Serie A scorer with nine goals in as many games.
He had been substituted by the time Monza were awarded a second penalty in the final 10 minutes and this time Patrick Cutrone missed from the spot as they were denied a point.
(Reporting by Nick Said in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)
