AC MILAN needed a controversial Demetrio Albertini penalty to hold rivals Inter to a 2-2 draw at the San Siro last night. Ronaldo showed a glimpse of his old form as he raced between two defenders to score Inter's opener in the seventh minute. But another former World Player of the Year, George Weah, hit back in the 13th minute.

Francesco Moriero beat Milan's offside trap to restore Inter's lead straight after the break but Albertini's penalty - awarded when Maurizio Ganz appeared simply to run into Francesco Colonnese - grabbed a point for Milan.

Fiorentina moved back to the top of Serie A with a 4-1 victory over Venezia, but their moment of triumph was marred by UEFA's decision to kick them out of the UEFA Cup.

Gabriel Batistuta scored twice in the win over Venezia, taking his season's tally to 10 goals in eight games. Juventus let a two-goal lead slip to Udinese when Roberto Sosa got an injury-time equaliser. Two points clear at the start of the day, Juve led 2-0 after 50 minutes. With 18 points, Fiorentina are a point ahead of Juve and four in front of AS Roma, held 1-1 at 10-man Bologna, and AC Milan.

Barcelona's defensive frailties re-surfaced yesterday as they suffered a shock 2-1 Spanish First Division defeat at Oviedo. Coach Louis van Gaal's side, beaten 2-1 by Bayern Munich in the Champions' League in midweek, let a first-half lead slip again as they missed their chance to go top of the table. Mallorca are the new league leaders as their 1-0 victory over Villarreal put them on 19 points from nine games, a point ahead of Real Madrid.