Napoli kept their hopes of a first Serie A title since 1990 alive with an epic 4-2 win over 10-man Inter last night.

Goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Dries Mertens, Blerim Dzemaili and Jose Callejon saw Rafael Benitez beat his old club in a hugely entertaining contest and go eight points behind leaders Juventus.

Juve had briefly gone 11 points clear of third-placed Napoli after a Carlos Tevez hat-trick inspired a 4-0 beating of Sassuolo, their eighth win in a row without conceding a goal.

Goran Pandev missed an added-time penalty after winning the spotkick himself only seconds after coming on as a substitute for Napoli but it made no difference to the result.

Walter Mazzarri was whistled by a section of the San Paolo crowd on his first return since leaving for Inter in the summer but Esteban Cambiasso and Yuto Nagatomo struck for a visiting side who, despite losing, will be happy with the grit and class shown in such a hostile environment.

Their task was made harder in the 71st minute when Ricky Alvarez was sent off following a second booking for handball, enraging Mazzarri and allowing Napoli respite from Inter’s enterprising attacking play.

The win also put Napoli two points behind unbeaten Roma, who travel to struggling Milan tonight looking to close the gap between themselves and Juve back to three points.

In Turin, Tevez’s hat-trick helped Juventus bounce back from their Champions League elimination in midweek.

Tevez struck with simple finishes in the 15th, 45th and 68th minutes.

He tapped in on the rebound after great skill from Arturo Vidal, before capitalising on a weak backpass on the stroke of half-time to shoot home his side’s third and touching home an inviting Mauricio Isla cross to seal the win.

The 29-year-old also set up Federico Peluso’s first Juventus goal in the 28th minute, sending in a beautiful free-kick that the midfielder headed home with the help of Sassuolo defender Luca Antei.

Two goals from Germany striker Miroslav Klose, on his return after more than a month out injured, helped Lazio to a 2-0 win over Livorno.

Klose struck twice in the space of seven first-half minutes, relieving the pressure on coach Vladimir Petkovic who had looked like facing the sack after six league games without a win.

Lazio climbed to ninth place on 20 points and Vincenzo Montella’s Fiorentina went fourth on 30 points, five behind Napoli.

Klose’s first for Lazio came in the 19th minute when he broke the offside trap and, after fluffing his first effort, slotted home on the rebound. He pounced again in the 26th minute when a week effort from Hernanes was deflected into his path.

“We talk about Klose as added value not only for his goals but the push he gives the team. The other players benefit from that,” said Petkovic.

“With a champion like him everything becomes easier.”

Fiorentina closed in on the Champions League places with a 3-0 home win against Bologna with Giuseppe Rossi scoring his 13th goal of the season.

Fiorentina had no problems against lowly Bologna and opened the scoring after 13 minutes through Josip Ilicic, who fended off two defenders to fire his first goal of the season.

Borja Valero doubled the hosts’ lead just before the half hour and chipped the ball to Rossi who lobbed Bologna keeper Giancarlo Curci for the third in the 64th minute.

Torino moved to within six points of European football after goals from Alexander Farnerud and Ciro Immobile gave them a 2-0 win at Udinese.

Genoa failed to build on their recent good run under manager Gian Piero Gasperini, dropping points at home when an injury-time header from Giuseppe De Luca earned Atalanta a 1-1 draw after Andrea Bertolacci had put the hosts in front.

A goal from Eder early in the first half moved Sampdoria four points clear of the drop zone with a 1-0 win at relegation rivals Chievo.

Serie A

Chievo 0
Sampdoria 1
Eder 16;

HT: 0-1. Att: 11,000.

Fiorentina 3
Ilicic 13; Valero 29; Rossi 64;
Bologna 0

HT: 2-0. Att: 29,600.

Genoa 1
Bertolacci 72;
Atalanta 1
De Luca 90;

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

Juventus 4
Tevez 15, 45, 68; Peluso 28;
Sassuolo 0

HT: 3-0. Att: 37,597.

Lazio 2
Klose 19, 26;
Livorno 0

HT: 2-0. Att: 27,000.

Napoli 4
Higuain 9; Mertens 39; Dzemaili 41; Callejon 81;
Inter 2
Cambiasso 35; Nagatomo 45;

HT: 3-2. Att: 40,000.
Red card: Alvarez (I) 71.
Missed penalty: Pandev (N) 90.

Parma 0
Cagliari 0

Att: 13,016.

Udinese 0
Torino 2
Farnerud 48; Immobile 75;

HT: 0-0. Att: 13,000.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Juventus	16	14	1	1	35	10	43
Roma	15	11	4	0	29	5	37
Napoli	16	11	2	3	35	19	35
Fiorentina	16	9	3	4	32	20	30
Inter	16	7	7	2	36	21	28
Verona	16	8	2	6	27	25	26
Torino	16	5	7	4	26	23	22
Genoa	16	5	5	6	17	19	20
Lazio	16	5	5	6	21	22	20
Parma	16	4	7	5	22	24	19
Cagliari	16	4	7	5	17	23	19
Milan	15	4	6	5	23	23	18
Atalanta	16	5	3	8	17	21	18
Sampdoria	16	4	5	7	18	24	17
Udinese	16	5	2	9	15	21	17
Chievo	16	4	3	9	12	19	15
Sassuolo	16	3	5	8	17	35	14
Livorno	16	3	4	9	15	27	13
Bologna	16	2	6	8	16	31	12
Catania	16	2	4	10	10	28	10

Milan vs Roma - today, 20.45

Top scorers
13 goals: Rossi (Fiorentina).
10 goals: Tevez (Juventus).
9 goals: Palacio (Inter).

Next fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Livorno vs Udinese. 20.45 Cagliari vs Napoli.
Sunday: 12.30 Bologna vs Genoa. 15.00 Atalanta vs Juventus; Roma vs Catania; Sampdoria vs Parma; Sassuolo vs Fiorentina; Torino vs Chievo; Verona vs Lazio. 20.45 Inter vs Milan.

Serie B
Lanciano 0 - Pescara 1

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

Leading standings: Entella 32; Pro Vercelli 28; Venezia, AlbinoLeffe, Savona 23; Como 22; Cremonese 21; Vicenza 19.

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

Leading standings: Perugia 31; Frosinone 29; Catanzaro 28; Pisa, L’ Aquila 24; Prato 23.