Rome, Apr 3 (IANS): A highly-anticipated Serie A clash turned out to be a lop-sided one, as AC Milan beat Napoli 4-0 away, inflicting the Partenopei's heaviest defeat this season.

Napoli are flying high this season, just conceding two Serie A defeats before Sunday's match, while Milan had struggled with only one point from the previous three matches, reports Xinhua.

With only 40 percent ball-possession, Milan were more clinical as they broke the deadlock in the 17th minute when Rafael Leao broke clear after latching on to Brahim Diaz's inspirational pass, before the Portuguese looped it over an on-rushing Alex Meret.

The away side doubled the lead minutes later when Diaz found the net.

Milan extended the lead on the hour mark with a moment of magic when Sandro Tonali won back possession and found Leao, who out-paced the defenders to finish with an angled drive.

Alexis Saelemaekers put the icing on the cake in the 67th minute with another solo effort as he broke into the box before beating Meret with a low-strike.

With the morale-boosting win, Milan climbed back to the third place with 51 points, four points behind Lazio who won 2-0 over Monza on Sunday, while Napoli still lead the table with a comfortable 16-point lead.

Elsewhere, Roma staged a second-half show to beat Sampdoria 3-0, Bologna crushed Udinese 3-0, and Spezia shared the spoils with Salernitana at 1-1.