German Denis scored his first goal for Napoli against Benfica while AC Milan finally broke its losing start to the season. Udinese and Sampdoria enjoyed convincing wins.

Milan didn't always convince but they eased the strain on Carlo Ancelotti with a crucial 3-1 win over FC Zurich at San Siro.

Kaka was fielded behind Andriy Shevchenko and Alexandre Pato.

The Diavolo were under pressure but they struck right at the end of the first half half when Shevchenko's shot was pushed out to Jankulovski, who tucked the rebound away via a defender.

Milan made the Swiss side pay when Pato blasted home from a free-kick move from 25 yards out to make it 2-0.

Borriello did strike when Shevchenko dribbled to the by-line and cut the ball back for the Neapolitan marksman to fire home for 3-0. Ronaldinho then entered to replace Sheva as the celebrations ended.

Just as the home fans started to relax, Zurich grabbed an away goal with a spectacular strike from Djuric from distance. It was a rocket that beat Dida to his left and bulged the net.

Milan: Dida; Antonini, Bonera, Kaladze, Jankulovski; Ambrosini (Emerson 67), Flamini, Seedorf; Kaka, Shevchenko (Ronaldinho 73), Pato (Borriello 65)

FC Zurich: Leoni; Stahel, Tihinen, Barmettler, Stuckl; Djuric, Aegerter, Okonkwo, Alphonse; Abdi (Mehmedi 87), Hassli (Nicki 76)

Ref: Gonzalez (Spa)

Napoli's UEFA Cup campaign got off to a prestigious start with an exhilarating 3-2 victory over Benfica, but they face a very tough second leg in Portugal.

Napoli 3 - 2 Benfica Suazo 16 (B), Vitale 18 (N), Denis 20 (N), Maggio 55 (N), Luisao 59 (B)

Napoli: Navarro; Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini; Maggio, Blasi (Pazienza 46), Gargano, Hamsik (Pia' 76), Vitale; Lavezzi, Denis (Zalayeta 67)

Benfica: Quim; Maxi Pereira, Luisao, Sidney, Leo; Urreta (Balboa 46), Yebda, Martins (Katsouranis 56), Reyes; Di Maria (Nuno Gomes 63), Suazo

Ref: Kuipers (Ned)

Antonio Cassano-inspired Sampdoria started their UEFA Cup campaign in style by annihilating Lithuanian outfit FBK Kaunas 5-0 at Marassi.

Sampdoria 5 - 0 FBK Kaunas Bonazzoli 14, 21, Cassano 35, 57, Fornaroli 90

Sampdoria: Mirante; Lucchini, Gastaldello, Bottinelli; Stankevicius, Delvecchio, Palombo (Dessena 79), Sammarco, Pieri (Ziegler 46); Cassano (Fornaroli 59), Bonazzoli

FBK Kaunas: Dreer; Radzius (Cinikas 71), Baguzis (Rimkevicius 46), Kancelskis, Manchkhava; Zubavicius, Ivanshevicius (Arouri 79), Mendy, Zelmikas; Luksa, Ledesma

Ref: Tannerq (Eng)

Sent Off: Luksa 87 (K)

Udinese are firmly in the driving seat in their UEFA Cup first round tie after seeing off German giants Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at the Westfalenstadion.

Borussia Dortmund 0 - 2 Udinese Floro Flores 8 (U), Inler 34 (U)

Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Rukavina, Subotic, Hummels (Santana 23), Lee; Blaszcykowosky, Hajnal (Frei 62), Kehl, Kringe; Valdes, Zidan (Tinga 10)

Udinese: Handanovic; Ferronetti (Motta 83), Coda, Domizzi, Lukovic; Isla, D'Agostino, Inler; Pepe, Floro Flores (Quagliarella 78), Sanchez (Di Natale 68)

Ref: Atkinson (Eng)

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