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Lazio blank Palermo to go fourth in Serie A

Palermo goalkeeper Alberto Fontana saves a shot from Lazio striker Tommaso Rocchi during their soccer match at La Favorita stadium in Palermo, Sicily, on Saturday. Lazio beat Palermo 3-0. PHOTO: AP

Tommaso Rocchi scored twice on Saturday and Lazio beat Palermo 3-0 to move into fourth place in the Serie A.

Rocchi scored first in the 45th minute by following up a save by Palermo goalkeeper Alberto Fontana, and added his second in the 77th from the penalty spot.

Sebastiano Siviglia headed in Lazio's other goal in the 52nd.

"We train to keep running," Lazio coach Delio Rossi said. "The midfielders work really hard and again this evening showed their stamina."

Lazio have 30 points, nine fewer than third-place Palermo. Inter Milan lead with 54 points, followed by AS Roma with 43.

Inter traveled to Sampdoria yesterday looking for its 14th straight win, while Roma hosts Siena.

Also on Saturday, Udinese beat Torino 3-2 to move into equal fifth place in the only other Serie A match.

In the Serie B, Pavel Nedved scored a 90th-minute equalizer to give Juventus a 1-1 draw with Spezia that maintained their two-point lead atop Italy's second division.

In Sicily, Andrea Caracciolo twice shot straight at Lazio's Angelo Peruzzi before beating the former Italy goalkeeper in the 14th -- only to see the goal ruled offside.

Rocchi then tested Fontana and pounced on the 'keeper's parry to put Lazio ahead.

Siviglia scored off Cristian Ledesma's corner and Stephen Makinwa earned Lazio the penalty which Rocchi converted for his ninth goal of the season.

"I'm sorry because it was an excellent first half on our part," Palermo coach Francesco Guidolin said. "But after the second goal, we did badly ... We were a bit underconfident, which was an error."

Palermo have only taken eight points from their last six games, while it was Lazio's first win in four.

At Torino's Stadio Olimpico, Christian Obodo put Udinese 1-0 up in the 18th from close range off a perfectly weighted pass from Paulo Barreto. He then set up strike partner Barreto in the 32nd.

Gyan Asamoah scored Udinese's third goal in the 61st, although TV replays suggested that the midfielder was offside when he collected a cross from Sulley Muntari.

Elvis Abbruscato led a late rally for Torino, scoring in the 77th and 90th minutes.

Torino's Gabriele Cioffi was sent off in the 85th for a second yellow card.

Udinese have 29 points with Catania, who played Atalanta yesterday. Torino has 22 points.

At Spezia's Alberto Picco stadium, Juventus looked to be heading for only their second league defeat of the season before Nedved struck with a shot from the edge of the area.
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