Milan suffered their fourth home defeat of the Serie A season with the loss to Fiorentina.

Alexandre Pato failed to equalize as he missed a penalty after Alberto Aquilani managed to open his goalscoring account for the Tuscans.

Borja Valero then beat Christian Abbiati to give Fiorentina a two-goal lead but substitute Giampaolo Pazzini hit back on the hour mark to give Milan hope. However, there was ultimately no way back for a toothless Milan side when Mounir El Hamdaoui made the visitors' points safe at the death with a long-range screamer.

AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted that his side were not inferior to Fiorentina despite the resounding loss.

"Fiorentina played well and kept possession, but we gifted them two goals from throw-ins. We did not react well and that is unacceptable," he said.

"The Viola ran hard and pressed us around the field, but they didn't really have many chances aside from the ones we gave them.

"It was a fairly balanced encounter. Fiorentina kept possession, but it is chances that count in football," he said.

Milan's cross-city rivals Inter also met their waterloo at the same day as they fell to a 3-2 defeat away in Atalanta.

Giacomo Bonaventura gave Atalanta an early lead which lasted until 11 minutes into the second half when Fredy Guarin equalized. German Denis restored Atalanta's lead instantly before adding a third from the penalty spot in the 67th minute.

Rodrigo Palacio brought Inter back into the game in the 84th minute and Atalanta were reduced to 10 men when Facundo Parra was dismissed in stoppage time, but the Bergamese side held on to the points to move up to sixth in the table.

Lazio inflicted a third straight "Derby della Capitale" defeat on Roma 3-2, to hold on to bragging rights in the Eternal City, with Stefano Mauri's goal proving key as both sides had a man sent off.

Erik Lamela temporarily lifted the Giallorossi above their fiercest rivals in the league table, scoring his seventh goal in six games with a confident header at the Stadio Olimpico. But Vladimir Petkovic's Lazio seized control on a waterlogged pitch, Antonio Candreva and Miroslav Klose notching to turn the tables on Roma before half-time.

Daniele De Rossi conspired to get himself sent off in first-half stoppage time and Mauri clinched all three points with a close-range finish after the restart.

"It was a shame about that gesture," Roma head coach Zdenek Zeman commented on De Rossi's expulsion. "We talked for two days about how we shouldn't react or give the referee the opportunity to flash cards. When you feel the derby too much, you pay for that."

The match was played under the driving rain, leaving large puddles on the pitch, and even had to stop for three minutes when floodlights failed.

"For the first 20 minutes the team played well, but once the pitch became impossible to play on then we had to stop, because we are incapable of playing the long ball game. We play close passing and quick movement, so don't really know how to play that type of football," Zeman said.

Napoli kept up the hunt for the Scudetto with a 4-2 win at Genoa, who have now lost five in a row, four under the guidance of Luigi Del Neri.

Gabriele Angella's 91st-minute strike earned a point for Udinese two minutes after Alberto Paloschi's spot-kick looked to have won the 2-2 draw for their hosts Chievo.

Palermo have a new hero after 18-year-old striker Paulo Dybala scored his first two goals in Serie A to down Sampdoria 2-0 at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.

Danilo D'Ambrosio's goal brought Torino's six-game winless run to an end with a 1-0 win to see off lowly Bologna. The defender headed home Mario Santana's cross from close range on 65 minutes and while Bologna came close to an equalizer the hosts held on for an overdue three points.

Parma are still unbeaten at home since March but a 0-0 draw with Siena did little to boost their chances of securing European football.