The Brazilian striker opened the scoring in the 14th minute, and added his second goal of the match in the 69th. David Suazo's penalty kick in the 74th minute gave the visitors hope, but Andrea Pirlo's second goal of the season six minutes later ensured that the points would stay in Milan.

Clarence Seedorf created the first goal with a nice slashing run through the midfield. He then slid a pass to Cafu on the right wing, and the Brazilian found his countryman inside the six-yard box with a cross, making things easy for Ronaldo.

That duo hooked up once again in the 69th minute, as Cafu found Ronaldo with a pass near the penalty spot. Ronaldo then got free for a shot that beat keeper Antonio Chimenti to double the score line.

Cagliari midfielder Andrea Capone then handed his team a chance to get back into the game as he drew a foul inside the Milan area. Kakha Kaladze was the guilty party, and Suazo made him pay by driving a shot into the bottom-left corner to cut the deficit in half.

Just when it looked like a tense final 10 minutes was in order, Pirlo's insurance marker took away the suspense with a fine free-kick effort that found the upper-left corner of the goal and left the keeper standing.

In Saturday's other Serie A contest, Sampdoria got the better of Messina 3-1, keeping Messina in grave danger of being sent down.

On Sunday, second-placed Roma tries to hold off Inter Milan's title clincher a little longer with a win against Atalanta, cellar-dwellers Ascoli visit Catania Calcio, Chievo sit on the edge of relegation and are in desperate need of points against Livorno and sixth-placed Empoli host Torino. Third-placed Lazio meets Fiorentina, Reggina is one point clear of relegation and takes on Udinese, Inter Milan tries to bounce back from its first loss of the season against Siena and Palermo hosts Parma in an effort to stay in the race for the final Champions League spot.