Antonio Di Natale scored twice for Udinese as they beat struggling Livorno 5-3 in their Serie A match this afternoon.

Di Natale came close for Udinese early on, but he could only direct his overhead kick wide of the far post.

Livorno then opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Paulinho, who curled a free kick into the top corner with Simone Scuffet left rooted to the spot.

Udinese were given the chance to draw level five minutes later when Maurizio Domizzi was hauled down inside the box, but from the resulting penalty, Di Natale saw his effort saved by Luca Anania.

The home side did manage to score just a minute later, as Di Natale was left unmarked at the back post following a corner and made no mistake to volley past the keeper.

In the 21st minute the Bianconeri took the lead for the first time as Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu was picked out by Bruno Fernandes on the edge of the box, before placing a low effort into the net.

Livorno fought back and equalised eight minutes later when Paulinho curled in his second free kick of the game with the help of a deflection.

They were not level for long as the hosts quickly retook the lead. Gabriel Silva was played into the box and managed to pick out Roberto Pereyra to guide the ball past the keeper.

Silva soon scored a fourth goal for the hosts, as he arrived to slot home Allan's pass at the back post, before Di Natale added a fifth on the stroke of half time.

Ishak Belfodil went close for Livorno following the break, but after finding space to shoot inside the box, he blazed his effort high over the bar

Livorno scored a third goal in the closing stages when Djamel Mesbah tapped home close range after Belfodil's shot was saved, but it proved little more than a consolation as Udinese held on to claim the three points.