Inter ended a poor run by routing Sampdoria 4-0 away in a stormy game yesterday, putting them back on course for a European return, after the hosts had forward Eder sent off and missed a penalty in the first 20 minutes.

Gonzalo Higuain scored a hat-trick in third-placed Napoli’s 4-2 win over 10-man Lazio and the goal glut continued as Fiorentina won 5-3 at Verona and Alberto Paloschi’s hat-trick guided Chievo to a 4-2 win at Livorno in a relegation battle.

There was also a dramatic finale at Torino where Ciro Immobile and Alessio Cerci both scored in stoppage time to beat Genoa 2-1.

Alberto Gilardino came off the bench to give the visitors an 85th-minute lead but Immobile levelled with a curling shot in the 92nd minute, his 19th goal of the season, and Cerci scored from a similar position one minute later.

Milan, languishing in mid-table after a dismal season, continued their improvement by winning their fourth game in a row as Riccardo Montolivo’s long-range strike sealed a 1-0 win over bottom club Catania.

Leaders Juventus (84 points) visit Udinese today and second-placed Roma (79) beat Atalanta 3-1 on Saturday. They are followed by Napoli (67) in the Champions League playoff spot with Fiorentina (58) and Inter (53) in the Europa League places.

At the bottom, Chievo’s win lifted them to 16th with 30 points while Bologna, who drew 1-1 at home to Parma, are next with 28, leaving Livorno (25), Sassuolo (25) and Catania (20) increasingly isolated in the relegation zone.

Inter forward Mauro Icardi set off the fireworks at Sampdoria when he scored against his old club in the 13th minute and provoked his former team mates with his celebration.

Jeered before kickoff, the Argentine turned to the Sampdoria fans and put his hand to his ear as if encouraging them to insult him, angering the home players.

The next twist came in the 18th minute when Sampdoria won a penalty but Maxi Lopez, who had refused to shake hands with Icardi before the game, saw his kick saved by Samir Handanovic.

Two minutes later, Sampdoria forward Eder was booked for a blatant dive which sparked a scuffle in which the Brazilian was given another yellow card and sent off.

World class saves

Undeterred, Samp pushed forward, forcing several world class saves from Handanovic but they ran out of steam after halftime and Inter romped home with a Walter Samuel header, another Icardi goal and Rodrigo Palacio’s 15th goal of the season.

The win lifted Inter, hoping to avoid the ignominy of missing out of European football for a second successive season, back into fifth place which earns a Europa League spot.

Walter Mazzarri’s side had failed to win in their previous four outings, all against lower-placed opponents.

Napoli, who have been exasperatingly inconsistent all season, fell behind to a well-taken Senad Lulic goal but came to life when Dries Mertens scored with a superb long-range strike three minutes before half-time.

The game turned three minutes after the re-start when Lazio captain Lorik Cana gave away a penalty, was sent off and Higuain converted.

The Argentine struck again with a half-volley in the 67th minute and completed his hat-trick with a clever chip in stoppage time after Eddy Onazi had replied in between for Lazio.

Serie A

Bologna 1
Cherubin 44;
Parma 1
Palladino 79;

HT: 1-0. Att: 21,379.

Livorno 2
Siligardi 6; Paulinho 34p;
Chievo 4
Paloschi 9,55,56p; Thereau 23;

HT: 2-3. Att: 13,540.

Milan 1
Montolivo 23;
Catania 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 33,014.
Red card: Rinaudo (C) 79.

Napoli 4
Mertens 42; Higuain 49p,67,90;
Lazio 2
Lulic 21; Onazi 82;

HT: 1-1. Att: 43,000.
Red card: Cana (L) 48.

Sampdoria 0
Inter 4
Icardi 13, 63; Samuel 61; Palacio 79.

HT: 0-1. Att: 22,000.
Missed penalty: Lopez (S) 18.
Red card: Eder (S) 20.

Torino 2
Immobile 90+2; Cerci 90+3;
Genoa 1
Gilardino 85;

HT: 0-0. Att: 17,000.

Verona 3
Sala 14; Toni 73p; Iturbe 90;
Fiorentina 5
Cuadrado 31; Aquilani 44, 86; Valero 63; Matri 83p;

HT: 1-2. Att: 23,778.
Red card: Donadel (V) 69.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Juventus	32	27	3	2	69	22	84
Roma	33	24	7	2	68	19	79
Napoli	33	20	7	6	63	35	67
Fiorentina	33	17	7	9	56	37	58
Inter	33	13	14	6	55	35	53
Parma	33	13	12	8	53	42	51
Torino	33	13	9	11	49	42	48
Milan	33	13	9	11	50	44	48
Lazio	33	13	9	11	44	44	48
Atalanta	33	14	4	15	38	44	46
Verona	33	14	4	15	50	57	46
Sampdoria	33	11	8	14	40	49	41
Genoa	33	10	9	14	36	43	39
Udinese	32	11	5	16	35	44	38
Cagliari	33	7	12	14	31	45	33
Chievo	33	8	6	19	30	49	30
Bologna	33	5	13	15	27	51	28
Livorno	33	6	7	20	36	64	25
Sassuolo	33	6	7	20	32	62	25
Catania	33	4	8	21	24	58	20

Playing today
Udinese vs Juventus - 20.45

Top scorers
19 goals: Immobile (Torino)
18 goals: Tevez (Juventus)
17 goals: Toni (Verona), Higuain (Napoli).

Next fixtures
Saturday: 15.00 Milan vs Livorno; Atalanta vs Verona; Catania vs Sampdoria; Chievo vs Sassuolo; Genoa vs Cagliari; Lazio vs Torino; Parma vs Inter; Udinese vs Napoli. 18.30 Juventus vs Bologna. 21.00 Fiorentina vs Roma.

Serie B
Padova vs Reggina - 2-2

Prima Divisione ‘A’
AlbinoLeffe vs Carrarese 0-1; Como vs Lumezzane 3-0; Cremonese vs Vicenza 2-1; Pro Vercelli vs SudTirol 2-0; Pro Patria vs FeralpiSalo 1-0; Reggiana vs Pavia 2-2; San Marino vs Venezia 2-1; Savona vs Entella 2-2.

Prima Divisione ‘B’
Ascoli vs Benevento 0-3; Barletta vs Catanzaro 0-3; Lecce vs Frosinone 2-0; Paganese vs Gubbio 2-2; Perugia vs Pontedera 1-0; Prato vs Salernitana 3-2; Viareggio vs Grosseto 0-0.