Lazio moves past Inter into 2nd place

LAZIO jumped ahead of Inter Milan into second place in Serie A following a 1-0 win at struggling Sampdoria on Sunday in the final Italian league action before the holiday break.

The capital's other club, Roma, beat AC Milan 4-2 to end the Rossoneri's four-match winning streak in the league, with 20-year-old forward Erik Lamela scoring twice at the Stadio Olimpico.

In Genoa, Lazio's Brazil playmaker Hernanes took advantage when Sampdoria goalkeeper Sergio Romero was down on the ground to score in the 31st minute.

It was Sampdoria's first match since former Lazio coach Delio Rossi replaced the fired Ciro Ferrara as manager.

Juventus, which beat Cagliari 3-1 on Friday, leads with 44 points. Lazio is next with 36 points, Fiorentina and Inter have 35 each and Napoli has 34.

Fiorentina won 3-0 at Palermo with two goals from Stevan Jovetic, including one with a penalty, and another spot kick from Gonzalo Rodriguez.

Napoli struggled but in the end managed to beat last-place Siena 2-0, ending a four-match losing streak in all competitions. On Tuesday, the southern club was deducted two points for match-fixing in a penalty stemming from a game three seasons ago.

Christian Maggio put Napoli ahead in the 86th by redirecting a cross from Marek Hamsik and Edinson Cavani doubled the lead with a penalty in the 90th for his 13th league goal this season.

In the late game, Nicolas Burdisso put Roma ahead in the 13th with a header following a corner, Pablo Osvaldo met a cross from Francesco Totti to head in another Roma goal in the 23rd and Lamela scored in the 30th after taking a pass from Daniele De Rossi, who was honored before kickoff for his 400th match with Roma.

In the 61st, Lamela added another goal with a header following a cross from Federico Balzaretti.

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