Filippo Inzaghi continued his prolific start to the season grabbing a late winner for European champions AC Milan as they beat Bologna 2-1 in Serie A on Saturday.

In Genoa, Lazio ruined Sampdoria's celebration of their return to Serie A with Roberto Mancini's side winning 2-1 at the Stadio Ferraris.

Inzaghi, who scored four goals in Italy's two European championship qualifiers last week, claimed the decisive goal for Carlo Ancelotti's side five minutes from the end at the San Siro stadium.

Milan had taken the lead in the 10th minute through an Andriy Shevchenko header but Bologna went in level at the interval after a superb 25-metre strike from Carlo Nervo.

Bologna spent the second half hoping to hold on to a point and it looked as though they had achieved their aim, against a far from fluent Milan, until Inzaghi wriggled free inside the area and fired passed Gianluca Pagliuca.

SUFFERED

"Inzaghi did really well for us, it was very difficult to put that away and he did so well," Ancelotti told Italy's Sky Sport.

"We deserved the win even if I have to say that we suffered quite a bit. Bologna defended well and perhaps we aren't designed so much for games like this," added Ancelotti.

The win was Milan's second in as many games but Lazio, who also hope to be among the title challengers, also kept up their 100 percent record.

The Rome side took an early lead in the eighth minute when Dejan Stankovic headed down a cross from Sinisa Mihajlovic and Simone Inzaghi fired in an acrobatic volley.

Sampdoria, playing their first home game in the top flight after four seasons in Serie B, wasted a great chance to get back on level terms just eight minutes later when Cristiano Doni's soft penalty was comfortably saved by Angelo Peruzzi.

Lazio, who start their Champions League campaign against Turkey's Besiktas on Tuesday, doubled their advantage in the 64th minute with a penalty from Demetrio Albertini.

The former Milan midfielder slotted home after Bernardo Corradi had been hauled down inside the area by defender Maurizio Domizzi.

LATE HOPE

Sampdoria gave themselves some late hope with a fine Fabio Bazzani header in the 73rd minute but Lazio held on to give Mancini, a former Sampdoria favourite as a player, his second win of the season.

"It was a special feeling coming back here with all those seasons here as a Sampdoria player and I knew that on the field it was going to be a difficult game," Mancini told Italy's Sky Sport.

"We did well, we directed the game as we wanted and it seemed we had it sewn up. But after they scored it became@difficult and we had some tiredness to deal with as well."

Mancini was part of the successful Sampdoria side who won the 1990 European Cup Winners Cup and a year later the club's first Serie A title.

Mancini said he was impressed by the current Sampdoria side.

"I saw a good Sampdoria side out there today and I think they will do well this season."

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