Lazio survived a Napoli fightback and a missed penalty before winning a pulsating match 4-2 away last night to finish third in Serie A and gain a place in the Champions League play-off round.

Napoli, needing to win to pip Lazio to third spot in coach Rafael Benitez’s last game in charge, looked down and out as they trailed 2-0 at half-time to goals from Marco Parolo and Antonio Candreva.

Gonzalo Higuain scored twice in 10 minutes to put Napoli level after the break, but the Argentine then squandered a golden chance to put them in front when he fired a penalty over the crossbar.

Ogenyi Onazi put Lazio back in front with five minutes to play and Miroslav Klose wrapped up their win in stoppage time.

Lazio had Parolo sent off and Faouzi Ghoulam was dismissed for Napoli, both in the second half.

Andrea Belotti’s last-gasp goal spoiled Roma’s end-of-season party but the 2-1 defeat could not take away the joy of finishing second in Serie A.

Palermo have enjoyed a promising return to the top flight and proved to be unfazed by the bright lights of the Stadio Olimpico by taking the lead through a first-half Franco Vazquez penalty.

An under-par Roma looked to have salvaged a point as Francesco Totti closed to within a single goal of the 300-mark with a classy strike at the death, but Belotti had the last word.

With second place and guaranteed entry to the UEFA Champions League group stage secured with last week’s dramatic derby victory over Lazio, Roma could perhaps be forgiven for relaxing on the final day.

At a semi-deserted San Siro, Mauro Icardi grabbed a share of the coveted ‘Capocannoniere’ award by scoring twice to boost Inter to a 4-3 final-day victory over Empoli.

The young Argentine managed to match 38-year-old Verona striker Luca Toni on 22 goals for the now-completed Serie A campaign when dragging Inter past plucky Empoli at San Siro.

Rodrigo Palacio and Marcelo Brozovic were also on target, with Levan Mchedlidze bagging a double for 15th-placed Empoli, whose odd goal was supplied by Leonardo Pucciarelli.

But with Sampdoria taking a point from Parma to secure seventh place, Inter’s win was not enough to steer them into the Europa League and a summer of rebuilding awaits coach Roberto Mancini.

Torino put in a five-star display against Cesena to finish the season in ninth place and pile on the agony for their already-relegated opponents.

Goals from Josef Martinez, Maxi Lopez and Marco Benassi saw the hosts race into a 3-0 lead after just 31 minutes.

But things got worse still for Cesena as Emiliano Moretti added a fourth five minutes into the second half and Lopez capped a wonderful evening for the Granata in the 70th minute.

The 5-0 defeat was Cesena’s 22nd loss of their cameo year in Serie A and they finished second bottom.

Serie A

Cagliari 4
Sau 13; Galvao 19; Mpoku 79; Fernandes 85og;
Udinese 3
Aguirre 44; Fernandes 81; Thereau 88;

HT: 2-1. Att: 5,105

Fiorentina 3
Ilicic 12; Bernardeschi 76; Badelj 90;
Chievo 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 33,000.
Red card: Cofie (C) 69.

Inter 4
Palacio 49; Icardi 53, 78; Brozovic 70;
Empoli 3
Mchedlidze 59, 88; Pucciarelli 62;

HT: 0-0. Att: 32,036.

Napoli 2
Higuain 55, 64;
Lazio 4
Parolo 33; Candreva 45; Onazi 85; Klose 90;

HT: 0-2. Att: 50,000.
Red cards: Parolo (L) 62; Ghoulam (N) 71.
Missed penalty: Higuain (N) 76.

Roma 1
Totti 85;
Palermo 2
Vazquez 35 pen; Belotti 90;

HT: 0-1. Att: 44,752.

Sampdoria 2
Romagnoli 54; De Silvestri 79;
Parma 2
Palladino 74; Varela 88;

HT: 0-0. Att: 20,913.

Sassuolo 3
Berardi 4; Zaza 19, 33;
Genoa 1
Pavoletti 41;

HT: 3-1. Att: 20,000.
Missed penalty: Zaza (S) 69.
Red card: Izzo (G) 73.

Torino 5
Cesena 0
Martinez 10; Lopez 16, 70; Benassi 31; Moretti 49;

HT: 3-0. Att: 21,000.

Final standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Juventus	38	26	9	3	72	24	87
Roma	38	19	13	6	54	31	70
Lazio	38	21	6	11	71	38	69
Fiorentina	38	18	10	10	61	46	64
Napoli	38	18	9	11	70	54	63
Genoa	38	16	11	11	62	47	59
Sampdoria	38	13	17	8	48	42	56
Inter	38	14	13	11	59	48	55
Torino	38	14	12	12	48	45	54
Milan	38	13	13	12	56	50	52
Palermo	38	12	13	13	53	55	49
Sassuolo	38	12	13	13	49	57	49
Verona	38	11	13	14	49	65	46
Chievo	38	10	13	15	28	41	43
Empoli	38	8	18	12	46	52	42
Udinese	38	10	11	17	43	56	41
Atalanta	38	7	16	15	38	57	37
Cagliari	38	8	10	20	48	68	34
Cesena	38	4	12	22	36	73	24
Parma (-7)	38	6	8	24	33	75	19

Top scorers
22 goals: Toni (Verona), Icardi (Inter).
20 goals: Tevez (Juventus).
18 goals: Higuain (Napoli).
16 goals: Menez (Milan).

Lega Pro
Promotion SFs (second legs)
Bassano Virtus vs Reggiana - 1-1 (agg: 1-1; Bassano win 3-1 on pens)
Matera vs Como - 1-1 (agg: 2-2; Como win 4-2 pens)