Immobile lifts Lazio into CL spots

ROME: Ciro Immobile scored twice in a five-minute blitz to end Lazio’s three-match Serie A losing streak and lift the Roman side up to fourth with a 2-0 victory over Verona on Monday.

Immobile grabbed his first after 55 minutes at the Stadio Olimpico and doubled his account five minutes later to bring his tally to a Serie A-leading 22 goals this football season.

“We’ve won an important match,” said Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi ahead of hosting Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League last 32 second leg on Thursday after losing 1-0 in Romania last week.“I saw the guys were tense but I told them to stay calm. Once the result was unlocked everything became easier.”

Lazio overtake Inter Milan, who drop out of the Champions League places into fifth after their 2-0 loss in Genoa on Saturday.Verona remain stuck second from bottom after their seventh defeat in eight games.

Napoli matched Juventus with a 1-0 win over SPAL on Sunday to hold top spot in Italy ahead of the champions who won the Turin derby by the same score.The two Serie A pacesetters both bounced back from European setbacks to claim their ninth consecutive league wins.