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Juventus leads Serie A by overcoming Reggina

Marco Di Vaio scored an early goal and Pavel Nedved added another in the second half Saturday to lift defending champion Juventus atop the Serie A after beating Reggina 2-0.

With 10 points from four matches, the Turin team moved two points clear of traditional rival Inter Milan, which had to settle with a 0-0 draw at Udinese in the only other match of the day.

Inter, one player down for 75 minutes following the ejection of Brazilian Luciano, who got a red card for landing a rough tackle, survived a penalty kick to escape unbeaten at the Friuli stadium and pile up eight points with a record of 2-2-0.

The Milan team struggled throughout and went close to allowing the first goal of this season when Danish defender Thomas Helveg fouled an opponent in a melee and the referee granted Udinese a penalty kick.

Chilean midfielder Marcelo Pizarro, Udinese's specialist from the 11m spot, kicked wide and Inter even had the opportunity for a sensational victory in the closing minutes when a powerful drive by Argentine captain Javier Zanetti hit the post.

Inter was without injured strikers Christian Vieri and Alvaro Recoba. Vieri, nursing a double ankle bruise, was expected to return in Tuesday's Champions League match at San Siro against Dynamo Kiev.

At Granillo stadium in Reggio Calabria, Di Vaio netted his fourth goal of the season -- his third in the last two matches -- by taking advantage of a defensive mishap from the southern Italian team in the 13th minute.
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