Napoli tighten grip on 2nd spot after Cagliari win

Rome: Napoli tightened their hold on second place and a direct Champions League berth with a last-minute 3-2 win over visiting Cagliari on Sunday. Lorenzo Insigne, a 21-year-old forward born in Naples, scored the winner with a long, angled shot four minutes into added time at the San Paolo stadium.

Victor Ibrabo had given Cagliari the lead in the 18th before Napoli struck back with an own goal from Davide Astori in the 48th and a close-range effort from Edinson Cavani in the 64th.

Marco Sau equalized for Cagliari in the 71st and the match appeared headed toward a draw until Insigne launched his well-placed shot from near the left sideline.

Napoli moved seven points ahead of third-place AC Milan, who were visiting Serie A leaders Juventus later. Juventus, who are eight points ahead of Napoli, are cruising towards their second consecutive title.

The top two finishers gain direct entry into the Champions League, while the third-place finisher enters the final playoff round. Fourth-place Fiorentina moved within one point of Milan with a 4-3 win over visiting Torino, with Brazilian midfielder Romulo scoring the decider in the 86th.

Juan Cuadrado, Alberto Aquilani and Adem Ljajic gave Fiorentina a 3-0 lead after just 33 minutes but Torino equalized with goals from Paulo Barreto, Mario Santana and Alessio Cerci in the 45th, 56th and 77th.

Earlier in the lunchtime fixture, injury-depleted Inter Milan needed a late goal from Tommaso Rocchi to beat visiting Parma 1-0 and end their three-match losing streak. In the 81st at the San Siro, Rocchi took a pass from Brazilian fullback Jonathan and slotted past Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante from the center of the area.

The victory gave under-pressure Inter manager Andrea Stramaccioni some much-needed breathing room and moved the Nerazzurri into fifth place - which carries a Europa League berth.

In their last three matches, Inter had been outscored 9-5. With an entire squad's worth of players injured, Inter had six youth team players on their bench and 19-year-old forward Luca Garritano came on in the second half.

Inter were helped when Roma dropped to sixth after getting held to a 1-1 draw at home by last-place Pescara. Roma youth product Gianluca Caprari gave the visitors the lead in the 14th with a header and Mattia Destro equalized from close-range in the 51st.

Destro also scored when Roma eliminated Inter from the Italian Cup semifinals Wednesday. In the Sicilian derby, Josip Ilicic scored five minutes into second-half added time as Palermo drew 1-1 at Catania, who had gone ahead with a goal from Pablo Barrientos in the 69th.

Still, Palermo are tied for the penultimate spot with Genoa. Siena, meanwhile, are just one point above the relegation zone after losing 1-0 at home by Chievo Verona. Sergio Pellissier put Chievo ahead in the 45th and Siena's Massimo Paci had a goal annulled for a foul in the 61st. Also, Bologna and Sampdoria drew 1-1 with Alberto Gilardino and Nicola Sansone trading goals.