Napoli dent Udinese top-four bid

SSC Napoli denied Udinese Calcio the chance to close the gap on the top four with Serie A victory, on a day when US Città di Palermo moved up to seventh with three points against AS Livorno Calcio.

Disasterous start
Udinese started the day four points adrift of fourth-placed ACF Fiorentina but had a disasterous start at Napoli's Stadio San Paolo when Cristian Zapata put the ball in his own net with just three minutes played. Simone Pepe restored parity five minutes later however and before the interval the hosts were down to ten men following Paolo Cannavaro's dismissal.

Lavezzi double
Just short of the hour it became ten-a-side though following a straight red card for Pepe and two goals in as many minutes by Ezequiel Lavezzi (74&75) proved decisive in securing victory for Napoli. It was a win that moved the hosts up to ninth, while Palermo also moved in the right direction following a 1-0 victory against Livorno - Fabrizio Miccoli scoring the game's only goal on 77 minutes.