Riccardo Saponara scored the only goal of the game in the second half as Empoli jumped three places in the Serie A table with a 1-0 win in Palermo.

Saponara curled home a 53rd minute free-kick after being fouled just outside the box and it was enough to consign the struggling hosts to their sixth defeat of the season.

Alberto Gilardino had fired an earlier chance against the post for Palermo and despite late pressure in which Aleksandar Trajkovski and Luca Rigoni both came close, the visitors held on for a win that moves them up to 12th in the table.

Sampdoria were forced to settle for their third consecutive draw after being pegged back by Chievo at Stadio Marc Antonio.

The visitors made a fine start when striker Eder fired his 10th goal of the season in the eighth minute after racing onto a fine through-ball from Carlos Carbonero.

But Roberto Inglese seized on a defensive error to equalise for the hosts in the 34th minute and almost put his side in front with a shot that whistled past the post just before the break.

The 1-1 draw leaves Sampdoria in ninth place while 12th-placed Chievo now find themselves without a win in five games.