Brazil star Kaka converted two spot kicks Sunday to help AC Milan beat 10-man Palermo 3-0 and move to second place above Juventus, who were held to a 2-2 draw at bottom side Reggina, dpa reported.
Serie A leaders Inter Milan hold a seven-point lead on city rivals Milan ahead of an away game to Napoli with six games left.
Milan settled matters with the Sicily hosts in a first half they closed two goals up through Kaka's spot kick and a header from veteran Filippo Inzaghi, who notched his 10th goal from the past seven games.
Palermo's hopes for a comeback faded when their defender Cesare Bovo was dismissed on 48 minutes, and entirely vanished after a second penalty converted from Kaka.
There were no signs of recovery from Juventus, who twice fell behind against Reggina and failed to end a winless run that began on March 21.
Antonino Barilla on 27 minutes scored his first goal in the Serie A largely thanks to a blunder from international goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who fell inside the net as he tried to parry the midfielder's header.
After Alessandro Del Piero equalized from the spot, the Reggio Calabria hosts went up again as Iceland's Emil Hallfredsson drilled a searing shot at the junction of bar and post, but Cristiano Zanetti levelled for Juve in his first game after a lengthy absence.
A 2-0 defeat at struggling Bologna halted Genoa's quest for a last Champions League berth that is currently available to fourth-place Fiorentina after their 4-1 crushing of 10-man Roma on Saturday.
Bologna remain in the three-team drop zone despite a win triggered by an opening penalty from Marco Di Vaio, who now leads the scorers' table on 21 goals.
One point clear of Bologna lie Torino, who beat Siena 1-0, while second-last Lecce prevailed 2-1 over Catania.
In mid-table games, Atalanta won 1-0 at Lazio, Sampdoria and Cagliari drew 3-3 and Udinese beat Chievo 2-1 on Saturday.
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