Lazio demolish Empoli to move to second position in Serie A

Lazio hammered Empoli 4-0 on Sunday to move into second place in the Italian Serie A, leapfrogging crosstown rivals Roma who drew 1-1 at Torino.

Headers from Stefano Mauri, Miroslav Klose, Antonio Candreva and Felipe Anderson secured an eighth straight win for Lazio, who had substitute Diego Novaretti sent off.

Lazio have 58 points from 30 games to place second, which grants direct Champions League entry. Roma are on 57, with third place, good enough for a Champions League play-off.

Lazio next visit leaders Juventus (70), who lost 1-0 at bottom side Parma on Saturday.

"The win means a lot for us because we wanted to play like this and we took the first two chances and it gave us enthusiasm," Klose said.

"I can say that we started this year well with a lot of work and great efforts from the whole team. We have got eight straight wins, but I think that it is not over because we have many tough opponents.

"Juve are the best team in the Serie A and have great players, but we have a great attitude and I expect a great game (Saturday)."

In Turin, Roma struggled in the first half against Torino, but went ahead on 58 minutes from a penalty by Alessandro Florenzi. The hosts, however, levelled on 64 minutes from substitute Maxi Lopez and withstood Roma's attacks in the closing minutes.

Napoli improved their standing by beating Fiorentina 3-0 to move past them into fourth on 50 points. The Florence side stayed on 49 and occupy the last Europa League berth with eight games left.

Dries Mertens put Napoli ahead with a great shot into the low right corner. Marek Hamsik came on in the second half to score with a deft flick and Jose Callejon struck with one minute left.

Sampdoria drew 1-1 at AC Milan and sit level on 49 with Fiorentina, who lead them with a better goal difference.

The Genoa guests had Roberto Soriano on target before Nigel de Jong levelled for Milan (42).

In other action, Palermo won 3-1 at Udinese and Atalanta 2-1 over visiting Sassuolo.

Chievo beat relegation-threatened Cesena 1-0 to move 13 points clear of the drop zone while Cesena remain on 22 to be third-from-last in the three-team drop zone.