- MILAN: Debutant Antonio Cassano set up a late winner to give leaders AC Milan a 1-0 victory at Cagliari while Parma thumped Juventus 4-1 away as Serie A returned from its midseason break with a bang on Thursday.
Second-placed Lazio drew 0-0 at Genoa, meaning Milan extended their advantage to five points pending Napoli's trip to play champions Inter Milan and their new coach Leonardo later (1945 GMT).
Cassano, bought from Sampdoria to replace the soon-to-depart Ronaldinho, came on for his debut in the second half and played in Sierra Leone youngster Rodney Strasser for a vital 86th-minute winner, which had a hint of offside.
On-loan Parma winger Sebastian Giovinco earlier scored twice on his return to Turin in a shock 4-1 win over his parent club Juventus.
AS Roma moved above Juve into fourth spot after a 4-2 comeback win over Catania.