MILAN --
Lazio beat Empoli 4-0 to take over second spot in Serie A from city rival Roma, which was held 1-1 at Torino on Sunday.
Stefano Mauri, Miroslav Klose, Antonio Candreva and Felipe Anderson scored to give Lazio an eighth consecutive win despite playing the last 32 minutes with 10 men after defender Diego Novaretti was sent off following a second booking.
''We are happy with our position in the table but the season isn't over today,'' Lazio coach Stefano Pioli said. ''We are happy with the result and the performance, especially as this is our third match in seven days.
''We'll enjoy this positive run but we have to look beyond it, to the next match. It's still very early, there are 24 points available which is a lot. We will be focused and determined also because we have still not secured a European spot.''
Lazio moved a point above Roma after Torino substitute Maxi Lopez cancelled out Alessandro Florenzi's penalty.
Lazio and Roma play each other in the penultimate match of the season.
''What's important is to be second at the end of the season,'' Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. ''We have to make the most of our next game at home, we have to win and then see what the others do.''
Napoli climbed to fourth after beating Fiorentina 3-0 to leapfrog above its opponent, but could be overtaken by Sampdoria, which visits AC Milan later.
German Denis had not scored for three months but netted a spectacular overhead kick as well as a penalty to help Atalanta beat Sassuolo 2-1.
Elsewhere, Palermo won 3-1 at Udinese and relegation-threatened Cesena lost 1-0 to Chievo Verona to leave it seven points from safety after Atalanta's victory.
Lazio was flying high in Serie A and confidence was further boosted after beating Napoli midweek to reach the Italian Cup final against Juventus.
It got off to the perfect start when Mauri headed in Pedro Luis Cavanda's cross from the right.
Lazio doubled its lead shortly after the half hour with almost a carbon copy of the first goal, this time it was Klose who headed in Cavanda's cross.
Candreva all but sealed the win just before halftime with a sublime long-range effort that swerved into the near top corner and Felipe Anderson added to Empoli's humiliation in the 53rd minute, tapping in the rebound after his initial effort was saved by Luigi Sepe.
Roma was looking for a third successive win to keep hold of second spot after ending a disastrous streak that had dashed its title hopes.
It struggled to carve out clear-cut opportunities before breaking the deadlock 12 minutes into the second half when Daniele De Rossi was tripped by Emiliano Moretti and Florenzi converted.
However, Maxi Lopez equalized seven minutes after coming off the bench although Roma players protested furiously that the ball had already crossed the byline when Bruno Peres cut it back for Giuseppe Vives, who flicked it on for the Argentine to score from close range.
In Naples, both sides were looking to bounce back from losing Italian Cup semifinals midweek.
Napoli was also without a win in five league matches, which had seen it slide to sixth place.
Dries Mertens scored the opener in the 24th minute as Micah Richards backed off the Belgian as he was closing in on goal, allowing him to curl a brilliant finish into the far side of the net from the edge of the area.
Gonzalo Higuain thought he had doubled Napoli's lead 12 minutes later with a thunderous effort that crashed off the underside of the bar and appeared to have crossed the line before bouncing out but the goal was not given.
Italy will introduce goal-line technology in the Italian Cup final and from next season in Serie A.
Goals from Marek Hamsik and Jose Callejon secured the win.
