Lazio defeated city rivals Roma 2-1 yesterday to move into third place in Serie A in a stormy derby which saw Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg red-carded inside the first 10 minutes.

Stekelenburg was sent off when he brought down striker Miroslav Klose who had burst past Juan after springing the offside trap.

Roma’s eighth red card of the season was compounded when Brazilian midfielder Hernanes scored from the penalty spot, beating replacement keeper Bogdan Lobont who had come on for Erik Lamela.

But Roma levelled after 16 minutes when Fabio Borini found the target after a Juan drive had come back off the post.

Lazio’s one-man advantage eventually told in the second half when skipper Stefano Mauri volleyed home a free-kick from Cristian Ledesma in the 62nd minute as they celebrated a league double over their city rivals.

Lazio now have 48 points, three behind second-place Juventus and six off Milan in top spot while Roma are down in sixth place.

“There is a long way to go, we’re currently in a good position and I hope the team can maintain this concentration now that we’re no longer in Europe. Above all, we must try to recover physically,” said Lazio coach Edy Reja.

“We prepared the game in a certain way and did not change our balance when Roma went down to 10 men, as if your side is balanced then sooner or later you’ll have the chances to win.”

Goals by Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi gave Napoli a potentially crucial 2-1 success at Parma to take the southern outfit to within three points of the top four as they target a Champions League qualifying slot.

Cavani struck five minutes before the interval and Lavezzi bagged the winner with four minutes renaining after Cristian Zaccardo had threatened to rescue a point for a Parma side only five points clear of the drop zone.

Napoli moved onto 43 points from 26 matches with their fifth straight win, a run which have seen Cavani and Lavezzi plunder 10 goals between them.

But there was a touch of good fortune about their opener as Cavani bundled home having seen his initial penalty saved.

There was then an element of controversy as Lavezzi appeared to be offside when he netted the clincher.

It was the Cavani-Lavezzi tandem which proved too hot for Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 encounter, the pair sharing the goals in a 3-1 win – and again they showed their poaching power.

Napoli are now fifth, three points behind Udinese who were held 0-0 at home by Atalanta.

Milan still lead the way after they thrashed Palermo 4-0 on Saturday courtesy of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic treble on his return from suspension to move three points clear of Juve, albeit having played a game more.

Juve maintained the only unbeaten record in Serie A but had to be satisfied with a 1-1 draw at home to Chievo.

Inter salvage 2-2 draw

In the late kick-off, Inter struck twice late in the second half to salvage a 2-2 draw against Catania at the San Siro.

The Nerazzurri looked to be heading for their fifth straight league defeat after first-half goals from Alejandro Gomez and Mariano Izco put Catania on course for an upset.

However, Diego Forlan ended Inter’s one-month goal-drought in the 71st minute to bring his side back into the match before team-mate Diego Milito equalised with 10 minutes remaining.

Inter coach Claudio Ranieri went into the game under growing pressure with his side having failed to win in their past nine games in all competitions.

Serie A

Bologna 1
Acquafresca 82;
Novara 0

HT: 0-0. Att: 19,000.
Missed penalty: Di Vaio (B) 19.

Fiorentina 2
Moras 61 og; Nastasic 74;
Cesena 0

HT: 0-0. Att: 26,834.

Inter 2
Forlan 71; Milito 80;
Catania 2
Gomez 20; Izco 38;

HT: 0-2. Att: 35,000.

Lecce 2
Muriel 61; Brivio 81;
Genoa 2
Sculli 21, 85;

HT: 0-1. Att: 8,100.

Parma 1
Zaccardo 77;
Napoli 2
Cavani 40; Lavezzi 86;

HT: 0-1. Att: 16,416.
Missed penalty: Cavani (N) 40.

Roma 1
Borini 16;
Lazio 2
Hernanes 10 pen; Mauri 62;

HT: 1-1. Att: 50,801.
Red cards: Stekelenburg (R) 7; Scaloni (L) 86.

Siena 3
Bogdani 41; Calaio 80; Del Grosso 82;
Cagliari 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 8,529.

Udinese 0
Atalanta 0

Att: 16,000.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Milan	26	16	6	4	53	22	54
Juventus	25	13	12	0	38	16	51
Lazio	26	14	6	6	41	30	48
Udinese	26	13	7	6	37	23	46
Napoli	26	11	10	5	44	25	43
Roma	26	11	5	10	39	33	38
Inter	26	11	4	11	36	36	37
Catania	25	8	10	7	34	35	34
Palermo	26	10	4	12	39	43	34
Chievo	26	9	7	10	22	31	34
Atalanta	26	9	11	6	30	28	32
Genoa	26	9	5	12	35	48	32
Fiorentina	25	8	7	10	25	25	31
Bologna	25	8	7	10	25	29	31
Cagliari	26	7	10	9	23	29	31
Siena	26	7	8	11	30	28	29
Parma	25	7	8	10	30	39	29
Lecce	26	6	7	13	30	42	25
Novara	26	3	8	15	21	46	17
Cesena	25	4	4	17	16	40	16

Top scorers
18 goals: Di Natale (Udinese), Ibrahimovic (Milan).
16 goals: Cavani (Napoli).
15 goals: Denis (Atalanta).
14 goals: Palacio (Genoa).

Next fixtures
Wednesday: 18.30 Bologna vs Juve; Cesena vs Catania; Parma vs Fiorentina.
Friday: 20.45 Chievo vs Inter; Napoli vs Cagliari.
Saturday: 20.45 Palermo vs Roma.
Sunday: 15.00 Milan vs Lecce; Atalanta vs Parma; Catania vs Fiorentina; Cesena vs Siena; Genoa vs Juventus. 20.45 Lazio vs Bologna; Novara vs Udinese.

Prima Divisione ‘A’
Avellino vs Monza 1-2; Benevento vs Como 0-0; Foligno vs Sorrento 2-1; Reggiana vs Foggia 0-2; Spal vs Carpi 2-2; Taranto vs P. Vercelli 0-0; Tritium vs Lumezzane 0-0; Viareggio vs Pavia 1-3.

Leading standings: Ternana 52; Taranto 48; Pro Vercelli 44; Carpi 43; Sorrento 42; Lumezzane, Benevento 36.

Prima Divisione ‘B’
Barletta vs Triestina 1-1; Carrarese vs Bassano 1-0; F’Salo vs Latina 2-1; Frosinone vs Andria 1-0; Pergocrema vs Spezia 1-2; Portogruaro vs Cremonese 0-4; Prato vs Piacenza 0-3; Trapani vs Siracusa 1-2; Lanciano vs SudTirol 2-1.

Leading standings: Trapani 49; Siracusa 43; Spezia 41; Pergocrema, Cremonese 38; Carrarese 37; Lanciano, Barletta 36.