( CNN ) -- Manager Jose Mourinho was sent off as Italian leaders Inter Milan crashed to a 2-1 defeat at title hopefuls Juventus on Saturday night . Second-placed AC Milan are now four points adrift of their city rivals after a 3-0 home crushing of Sampdoria , who remained in fifth . Ten-man Juve went third , five points behind Inter , after ending the defending champions ' eight-match unbeaten run in Serie A. Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo was credited with the 20th-minute opening goal in Turin as he deflected in a free-kick from compatriot Diego , and Mourinho was ordered from the dugout following his protestations about the foul being awarded in the first place . Cameroon striker Samuel Eto ' o leveled six minutes later with a header from Dejan Stankovic 's cross , but new Italy international Claudio Marchisio gave the home side victory in the 58th minute after goalkeeper Julio Cesar blocked a shot by midfielder Mohamed Sissoko . Melo was sent off with three minutes left for his second yellow card after aiming an elbow at Mario Balotelli , who was also booked for his theatrical reaction . The defeat was a blow to Inter 's confidence ahead of Wednesday 's Champions League showdown with Russia 's Rubin Kazan at the San Siro , with the winner earning a place in the knockout stages . AC Milan scored all three goals in the first half as striker Marco Borriello , who used to play for Sampdoria 's city rivals Genoa , headed the opener in the first minute from Ronaldinho 's cross . The Brazilian was in fine form , and also set up the second goal for Clarence Seedorf in the 21st minute as he threaded a neat pass to the veteran Dutch midfielder . Ronaldinho 's compatriot Alexandre Pato made it 3-0 just two minutes later with his seventh goal of the season , netting at the second attempt after goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi blocked his initial effort following a header on by Borriello . It was Milan 's fifth successive victory , with coach Leonardo taking Ronaldinho off at halftime as a precaution due to a slight knee problem ahead of Tuesday 's Champions League trip to FC Zurich , which will determine whether the Rossoneri qualify for the knockout stages . Sampdoria slumped to a third defeat in a week , having been knocked out of the Italian Cup by lowly Livorno in midweek following the embarrassing 3-0 derby defeat to Genoa last weekend .
Mourinho sent off as Italian leaders Inter Milan lose 2 -1 at Juventus . Manager ordered from dugout for his protests following the opening goal by Juve . Third -placed Juve are now 2 points behind the defending champions . Second -placed Juventus are four points behind their rivals after beating Sampdoria 2 -0 .