Napoli secure second place
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E-mail Xinhua, May 9, 2013
Napoli beat Bologna 3-0 on Wednesday to make sure of a Champions League berth for next season, while AC Milan came closer to that goal after thrashing Pescara 4-0.
The goals of Walter Mazzarri's side came in the second half and confirmed that they are to finish runners-up this season, thus qualifying themselves for season's UEFA Champions League.
Napoli broke the deadlock in the 54th minute through Marek Hamsik's 20-yard effort. Edinson Cavani quickly doubled Napoli's advantage from the penalty spot for his fourth goal in two games, before Blerim Dzemaili fired in a third.
"It is an exceptional achievement and with another two victories we can even beat the points total of Diego Maradona's side," said Mazzarri.
"I am very satisfied with what we've done so far and we want to end the season on a high. In certain ways, I liked the team even more than the first time we got into the Champions League, as we are behind only an extraordinary Juventus. For the last four years Napoli have reached Europe and this is why the players deserve nothing but praise," he said.
AC Milan's chance to finish third at the end of the season got boosted after beating Pescara, who were relegated to Serie B last Sunday. Sulley Muntari and Mathieu Flamini added to a Mario Balotelli brace as the visitors dominated proceedings and eased to three points.
Inter suffered a heavy blow in their hope of a top-six finish follow their 3-1 loss to Lazio at San Siro.
The win was Lazio's first at San Siro for 15 years, and their head coach Vladimir Petkovic felt sorry for Inter.
"We are playing very well, although Inter deserved something more tonight," he said. "We had chances even after going 3-1 up, but we weren't clinical enough. I compliment my players for the result and for extending our positive streak."
Inter head coach Andrea Stramaccioni admitted he was left speechless by the defeat in which Ricky Alvarez slipped while taking a penalty.
"It's not easy to comment on a game like this, because we lost 3-1 and even Vladimir Petkovic will confirm Inter deserved to get something out of it," he said. "We suffered yet another injury, a missed penalty, we hit the woodwork and then Eddy Onazi scored a stunning goal."
Serie A champions Juventus overcame Atalanta courtesy of a solitary goal from Alessandro Matri in the 18th minute.
However, the game was overshadowed by fan trouble as both sets of supporters threw fireworks at each other, which Juve coach Antonio Conte and the Atalanta players personally tried to calm down.
Udinese moved into fifth place with a 3-2 win at Palermo, who now have little hope of surviving the drop with two games remaining.
Luis Muriel gave the visitors an early lead but Palermo hit back two minutes into the second half when Fabrizio Miccoli equalized from the penalty spot.
Udinese's Antonio Di Natale missed a penalty of his own, after Salvatore Aronica handled inside the area, but Gabriele Angella restored their lead with a header in the 64th minute.
The home side drew level nine minutes from time through Abel Hernandez but there was more drama as Mehdi Benatia grabbed Udinese's third two minutes later.
Palermo's defeat meant that Sampdoria are mathematically safe following a 1-1 draw with Catania, in which Lorenzo De Silvestri and Nicolas Spolli scored.
Relegation candidates Torino and Genoa earned a vital point each in a 0-0 draw, which has kept both sides out of the bottom three.
Meanwhile, Gonzalo Rodriguez decided the Tuscan derby to keep Fiorentina in the hunt for third and possibly send Siena to Serie B.
Giuseppe Lachini's men now need two wins from their remaining two games to have any chance of avoiding the drop.
Aleandro Rosi gave Parma a narrow 1-0 victory over Cagliari in a game with very little to play for at the Stadio Rocco.
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