Rome: Lazio have solidified fourth spot in the Serie A table after a comfortable 3-0 victory over Novara at the Stadio Olimpico, to round off this weekend's domestic action in Italy.
First-half strikes from Giuseppe Biava and Tommaso Rocchi put Edy Reja's side in command, and their superiority was never in doubt, especially when Rocchi added a third as the capital club move to within four points of leaders Juventus.
In a rather subdued atmosphere in Rome, it was Lazio that did all of the running in the early exchanges, and it was no surprise when their superiority was awarded with the breakthrough on 16 minutes.
A teasing corner from Hernanes dropped into the penalty area just six yards from goal, onto the head of defender Biava, who duly bulleted home past the helpless Samir Ujkani.
Seven minutes later, and the match was effectively over as a contest, such was Lazio's dominance over their opponents. This time it was Cristian Ledesma with a swerving delivery from a set piece, and Rocchi leapt to glance into the net from close range.
There was no letup from the hosts in the second half, as the gulf in quality between the sides became all the more apparent. Hernanes drilled a shot just wide of the target, before Miroslav Klose was guilty of a horrendous miss, rounding Ujkani but somehow skewing his effort wide of the empty goal.
However, the victory was rubber-stamped by the impressive Rocchi on 72 minutes. The industrious striker collected the ball in the centre of the pitch, and after a neat piece of skill, sprayed the ball wide to Alvaro Gonzalez. Rocchi then continued his run into the area to meet the Uruguayan's cross sweetly on the volley to slam into the net.
Djibril Cisse was given a late cameo to allow Rocchi to receive the acclaim of the appreciative home support, and the Frenchman, who has lost his place in the side of late, almost added his name to the scoresheet, but his measured finish rebounded from the inside of the post, with Ujkani beaten.
Novara's fate, though, had already been sealed. They find themselves languishing in 18th spot in the table, while Lazio can look upwards, and the possibility of a surprise title challenge.
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