Lazio stun Napoli to clinch Champions League berth

MILAN: Late goals by Ogenyi Onazi and Miroslav Klose rubber-stamped Lazio’s third-place finish in Serie A on Sunday after a thrilling 4-2 win at Napoli that secured a place in next season’s Champions League playoffs.
With Juventus and Roma having secured automatic entry to the Champions League, Napoli required no less than a win at the San Paolo to leapfrog Lazio into third place and qualify for the competition’s playoffs at the capital club’s expense.
But after launching a second-half fightback thanks to a Gonzalo Higuain brace after early goals from Marco Parolo and Antonio Candreva had given Lazio a 2-0 half-time lead, the Argentinian blazed over a penalty minutes later — his fourth miss from the spot this season — to allow Lazio back into the game.
With the game delicately balanced at 2-2 and with both teams down to 10 men, Lazio had done enough to hold on to third spot.
But the visitors pushed to make it sure, and with five minutes remaining Onazi put the match beyond Napoli’s reach by firing across Mariano Andujar and inside the ‘keeper’s far post.
German veteran Klose added a fourth for Lazio in injury time to ensure a happy ending to a rollercoaster season for the Biancocelesti, who recently lost the Italian Cup final to Juventus and were stunned late against Roma last week to lose the city derby.
“We did a great job tonight to finish off a great season,” Candreva told Sky Sport.
“Thankfully for us Higuain missed from the spot but we deserve this third-place finish and we welcome it, especially after the bitterness of losing the derby.”
Napoli’s defeat, as well as Fiorentina’s 3-0 victory over Chievo, saw Rafael Benitez’s men drop one place to fifth in what was the Spaniard’s final game at the club ahead of his reported move to Real Madrid.
Napoli join Fiorentina in next season’s Europa League, with Sampdoria, who finished seventh three points behind Genoa, set to claim the league’s third spot in the competition after their city rivals were refused a European licence because their stadium does not meet UEFA standards.
Despite Fiorentina’s solid finish, coach Vincenzo Montella has left doubts hanging over his future.