MILAN, 18 April 2005 — Juventus moved three points clear at the top of Serie A after rivals AC Milan fell to a shock 2-1 defeat at lowly Siena yesterday.

Juve put their Champions League exit at the hands of Liverpool in midweek behind them as a Zlatan Ibrahimovic hat trick helped Fabio Capello’s side to a 5-2 triumph over Lecce at the Delle Alpi stadium.

A header by Siena’s Francesco Cozza four minutes from time delivered Milan’s first league defeat since January.

Juventus have 70 points with AC Milan on 67 and third-placed Inter Milan, who beat Cagliari 2-0, are 11 points behind their city rivals. Juventus play Inter in Turin on Wednesday.

At the foot of the table, Fiorentina fell into the relegation zone as a 2-0 defeat at Livorno led their traveling supporters to call for the sacking of coach Dino Zoff.

After 13 Serie A and European matches without a loss Milan, who face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League semi-finals, were brought down to earth with a result that could prove vital in a tight two-horse title race.

Van Nistelrooy Double Leads Man Utd Into Final

In Cardiff, holders Manchester United will play Arsenal in the FA Cup final next month after crushing Newcastle United 4-1 in a largely one-sided semifinal at the Millennium Stadium yesterday.

Two goals from Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, his first since his injury in November, and efforts from Paul Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed an emphatic win at a rain-lashed stadium whose moveable roof was open to leaden grey skies.

Shola Ameobi scored for outclassed Newcastle, who looked tired and off the pace after a 4-1 defeat to Sporting saw them eliminated in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals on Thursday.

Manchester United effectively had the match won by halftime as goals from Van Nistelrooy after 19 minutes and a 44th minute header from Scholes put them into a commanding lead.

Second half strikes from Van Nistelrooy after 58 minutes and Cristiano Ronaldo (76th) sealed United’s place in the final for the 17th time, equaling Arsenal’s record set on Saturday when they beat Blackburn Rovers 3-0 in the first semifinal.

Nuremberg Move Away From Drop Zone With 1-0 Win

In Berlin, Nuremberg climbed four points clear of the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory at VfL Wolfsburg yesterday, courtesy of a controversial header by Stefan Kiessling that was allowed by referee Markus Merk.

Bayern Munich went six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday after a 1-0 win at Hanover 96 with Schalke 04, in second place, and VfB Stuttgart, in third, both losing.

Although television replays showed Wolfsburg goalkeeper Simon Jentzsch being held down by Nuremberg players as Kiessling outjumped them all in the 63rd minute, Merk allowed the goal, which followed a Nuremberg corner kick.

In the day’s other match, VfL Bochum won 2-1 at Kaiserslautern but remain 16th in the standings with 29 points, one behind 15th-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach and two behind Mainz, who are 14th on 31 points.