Sampdoria shut out Parma to remain in hunt for Champions League slot
MILAN -- Napoli beat Lazio 1-0 to leapfrog the Rome side into third spot in Serie A on Sunday, while Sampdoria remained firmly in the race for the final Champions League spot with a 2-0 win at Parma.
Gonzalo Higuain was on target to once again punish Lazio. He has scored in each of the four matches he has played in against the capital side.
Napoli and Sampdoria moved onto 33 points, with Lazio two points behind. Fiorentina was a point further back after Khouma Babacar's last-gasp goal snatched a 2-1 win at Chievo Verona.
Genoa was on 28 points after coming back three times to rescue a 3-3 draw against Sassuolo. There was more disappointment for AC Milan, which lost 1-0 at home to relegation-threatened Atalanta.
Elsewhere, Udinese drew 2-2 at home to Cagliari, and Torino won 3-2 at bottom club Cesena.
In Parma, Sampdoria struggled to carve out chances but finally broke the deadlock nine minutes into the second half when Eder rolled the ball across from the right for Gonzalo Bergessio to tap in at the back post.
Samp all but sealed the result in the 71st minute. Bergessio hit the post from Joseph Alfred Duncan's cross and Roberto Soriano fired home the rebound.
Fiorentina looked to have lost ground in a riveting battle for third spot as it appeared to be heading for a draw in Verona but Babacar headed Joaquin's cross in at the far post in stoppage time to snatch all three points.
Joaquin had also had a hand in Fiorentina's 35th-minute opener, as Nenad Tomovic nodded his cross back across goal for Gonzalo Rodriguez to tap in.
Sergio Pellissier leveled after Fiorentina missed several chances.
Genoa also needed a last-gasp goal, with Ioannis Fetfatzidis - who also scored his side's second - converting a penalty in stoppages after Francesco Magnanelli fouled Juraj Kucka.
Domenico Berardi also scored two, including a penalty, for Sassuolo.
Milan was whistled off the pitch after its second successive home defeat. Filippo Inzaghi's men have won just one of its past six matches and visit Lazio next.
Alessio Cerci was handed his first league start after returning to Serie A from Atletico Madrid, but the former Torino star was replaced at halftime.
German Denis saw a shot deflected off the crossbar before scoring shortly after the half hour following more woeful defending from Milan, which allowed Maxi Moralez to set up his Argentine compatriot.
