Ronaldo scored against his former side, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabbed the winner as Inter Milan bounced back from their disappointing exit from Europe with a narrow 2-1 triumph over city rivals AC Milan.

Ibrahimovic struck with 15 minutes remaining to give the Serie A leaders a deserved victory in a thrilling encounter at a sold-out San Siro.

Substitute Julio Cruz had levelled the scores shortly after the restart to cancel out Ronaldo's first-half strike but Ibrahimovic's goal ensured Inter's title charge continues apace.

They are still 16 points clear of second-placed Roma after the men from the capital also won on Sunday.

A brace from inspirational captain Francesco Totti ensured their was no Champions League hangover for the Romans has they brushed aside Udinese 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico.

The Giallorossi overcame French outfit Lyon in midweek to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final tie against Manchester United.

But Totti, who is Serie A's top scorer this season, made sure his side were fully focused on domestic action as he fired them ahead after 33 minutes from the penalty spot.

Simone Perrotta doubled Roma's advantage six minutes later before Totti netted his second on the hour.

Asamoah Gyan netted a late consolation for Udinese, but it did little to detract from another polished Roma performance.

Behind them Lazio leapfrogged Palermo to climb to third after a narrow 3-2 win over Reggina.

Substitute Stephen Makinwa's 79th-minute goal at the Granillo Stadium gave the Romans their fifth victory in a row.

Giacomo Tedesco gave Reggina a 26th-minute lead before Christian Franceschini and Goran Pandev's strikes before half-time saw the Romans take command going into the second half.

Lazio's joy was shortlived as Pasquale Foggia, on loan at Reggina from them, equalised on 65 minutes before Makinwa came to the rescue.

There was nothing between the sides at La Favorita as Palermo and Fiorentina fought out a 1-1 draw which does little for either side's European aspirations.

Adrian Mutu opened the scoring for the visitors in controversial circumstances just after the half-hour mark, firing home with an opponent lying injured and in need of treatment.

Edison Cavani's second-half equaliser, just after his team-mate Cristian Zaccardo had been dismissed, ensured a share of the spoils for Palermo, but it was not enough for Francesco Guidolin's side.

Torino eased their relegation worries with a valuable - if slightly fortunate - 1-0 win over Catania.

Alessandro Rosina got the only goal of the game just 13 minutes from time to give his team three points that lift them up to 13th place in the table, six points clear of the drop zone.

But they needed plenty of luck on their side as they were kept on the back foot by the visitors for much of the game.

Ascoli moved off the bottom after an own goal from Valerio Bertotto handed them a precious 1-0 victory against Siena.

Picchio have now moved level on points with Parma, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Atalanta, but sit above them by virtue of a superior goal difference.

The win stretches Ascoli's unbeaten run to five games and leaves them just five points behind Messina, who hold the last place above the drop zone.

Siena, who have won just once since the end of October, are now in a precarious position at the lower-end of the table and find themselves only five points above the relegation zone.

Substitute Ferdinand Coly was the man to scored for Parma as they came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against mid-table outfit Atalanta.

Atalanta looked to be heading for their first victory in seven games when Mario Defendi put them ahead early in the second half.

But the away side boosted their survival chances and secured a valuable point when Coly fired home in the 88th minute.

Ten-man Messina converted a late penalty to earn a valuable point in their relegation battle at Chievo.

Chievo had a chance to move in front from the spot but goalkeeper Nicholas Caglioni managed to keep Sergio Pellissier's kick out with his feet.

However, the ball fell to Paolo Sammarco and he scored easily for Chievo.

Christian Rigano gave the visitors from Sicily a share of the spoils three minutes from time after Marco Zanchi was fouled in the area.

Surprise packages Empoli were denied another victory by a brave comeback from 10-man Livorno in an exciting Tuscany derby match.

Goals from Francesco Pratali and Sergio Almiron earned Empoli a 2-0 interval lead and they looked on course to record their third consecutive win with both those goals coming after the dismissal of Livorno's Giovanni Pasquale.

But Rahman Rezaei started the comeback in the second half and Cristiano Lucarelli completed the job in stoppage time with a last-gasp strike.

On Saturday, a David Suazo-inspired Cagliari dented Sampdoria's hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Cup next season as the hosts were held to a 1-1 draw in Genoa.

The Honduras international was a constant thorn in the side of the Samp defence and scored the equaliser for the Sardinians in the 63rd minute after Angelo Palombo had put the home side ahead five minutes before half time.

Samp rarely looked like adding to their one goal and European football next season now seems like a distant dream while Cagliari will be happy with another point which keeps them out of reach of the bottom three, at least for another week.