Roma substitute Fabio Simplicio struck a late equaliser to deny Napoli victory at the Stadio Olimpico last night.

Napoli looked to be heading for their third straight win after Edinson Cavani put them in front for the first time in the 67th minute.

Marquinho had given Roma a first-half lead before Juan Zuniga equalised for the visitors early in the second half.

Simplicio then came to Roma’s rescue and hit the back of the net two minutes from time.

The result has lifted Napoli into the crucial third position in Serie A, level on 55 points with Lazio, who visit Udinese tonight.

The top three teams in Italy’s top flight qualify for the Champions League next season.

Roma, meanwhile, remained in seventh place.

The hosts went into the game looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats to Juventus and Fiorentina and had the first chance when Marquinho’s header from Francesco Totti’s cross was kept out by Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis.

Napoli could have taken the lead three minutes later when Blerim Dzjemaili fed Cavani in the box but he struck the ball wide of the far post.

Cavani then acted as provider and found Marek Hamsik in the area. However, his attempt from 12 yards was saved by Roma goalkeeper Bodgan Lobont.

Instead, it was the hosts who went in front before the interval.

Aleandro Rossi’s cross from the right found Marquinho in the heart of the area and his left-footed strike beat De Sanctis.

Napoli played with a greater sense of urgency after the restart and drew level in the 49th minute.

Zuniga found space outside the area and struck towards the far post and out of Lobont’s reach.

The visitors continued to put pressure on Roma’s defence and on the hour mark, Lobont kept out Gokhan Inler and Cavani’s goalbound attempts.

Napoli’s efforts paid off as Cavani’s right-footed shot from 30 yards beat Lobont.

Yet, it was Roma who had the last say.

Simplicio got behind sub­stitute Junior Tallo’s cross and struck the ball from the heart of the area past De Sanctis and into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Earlier in the evening, Catania’s outside hopes of playing in the Europa League next season suffered a setback when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Palermo in the Sicilian derby.

The draw kept Catania in eighth place, five points off their sixth-place target.

Catania opened the scoring in the 25th minute through defender Nicola Legrottaglie but Palermo levelled just after half-time when skipper Fabrizio Miccoli found the target.

Serie A

Played yesterday

Cagliari 0
Chievo 0

Att: 9,500.

Palermo 1
Miccoli 47;
Catania 1
Legrottaglie 25;

HT: 0-1. Att: 19,000.

Roma 2
Marquinho 42; Simplicio 88;
Napoli 2
Zuniga 49; Cavani 67;

HT: 1-1. Att: 38,000.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Juventus	34	20	14	0	58	18	74
Milan	34	21	8	5	64	27	71
Lazio	34	16	7	11	50	43	55
Napoli	35	14	13	8	62	43	55
Udinese	34	14	10	10	45	35	52
Inter	34	15	7	12	50	46	52
Roma	35	15	6	14	55	50	51
Catania	35	11	14	10	45	47	47
Parma	34	11	11	12	46	51	44
Chievo	35	11	11	13	30	41	44
Siena	34	11	10	13	42	36	43
Atalanta	34	12	13	9	38	36	43
Bologna	34	10	12	12	35	40	42
Palermo	35	11	9	15	48	54	42
Cagliari	35	10	12	13	36	42	42
Fiorentina	34	10	11	13	34	39	41
Genoa	34	9	9	16	44	63	36
Lecce	34	8	11	15	38	51	35
Novara	34	6	10	18	29	57	28
Cesena	34	4	10	20	21	51	22

Playing today – 15.00
Atalanta vs Fiorentina (2-2)
Bologna vs Genoa (1-2) - 12.30
Inter vs Cesena (1-0)
Lecce vs Parma (3-3)
Novara vs Juventus (0-2)
Siena vs Milan (0-2)
Udinese vs Lazio (2-2) - 20.45

Note: In brackets results first round.

Next fixtures
Tuesday: 18.00 Chievo vs Roma. 20.45 Napoli vs Palermo.
Wednesday: 20.45 Catania vs Bologna; Cesena vs Udinese; Fiorentina vs Novara; Genoa vs Cagliari; Juventus vs Lecce; Lazio vs Siena; Milan vs Atalanta; Parma vs Inter.
Saturday: 18.00 Lecce vs Fiorentina. 20.45 Roma vs Catania.
Sunday: 12.30 Siena vs Parma. 15.00 Atalanta vs Lazio; Bologna vs Napoli; Cagliari vs Juventus; Novara vs Cesena; Palermo vs Chievo; Udinese vs Genoa. 20.45 Inter vs Milan.

Top scorers
24 goals: Ibrahimovic (Milan).
22 goals: Cavani (Napoli).
20 goals: Di Natale (Udinese), Milito (Inter).
17 goals: Palacio (Genoa).
15 goals: Denis (Atalanta).

Serie B
Ascoli 2 - Livorno 0
Cittadella 0 - Varese 1
Grosseto 2 - Padova 2
Gubbio 0 - Pescara 2
Modena 3 - Juve Stabia 0
Reggina 1 - AlbinoLeffe 0
Sampdoria 2 - Bari 0
Torino 2 - Crotone 1
Vicenza 0 - Nocerina 1

Standings: Torino 70; Pescara 68; Sassuolo, Verona 67; Padova 60; Varese 59; Sampdoria 58; Reggina 54; Brescia 53; Juve Stabia 52; Modena 48; Grosseto 47; Bari 45; Cittadella 44; Crotone 43; Ascoli 41; Livorno 38; Empoli 35; Vicenza, Nocerina 34; Gubbio 31; AlbinoLeffe 25.