SERIE A ROUND-UP: ROMA BACK TO SECOND PLACE, LAZIO DRAW

Roma climbed to second place in the Serie A table with a 2-0 home triumph over Genoa on Sunday afternoon.

Seydou Doumbia put the hosts on their way in the 35th minute before Alessandro Florenzi doubled Roma's lead seconds from time to condemn Genoa to their 10th defeat of the season.

The outcome at the Stadio Olimpico, Roma's second straight win, lifted the Giallorossi two points above city rivals Lazio.

Lazio, however, have an opportunity to leapfrog Roma into second if they win at Atalanta later on Sunday.

The top two teams in Serie A will qualify directly for next season's Champions League.

Lazio failed to reclaim second spot after being held to a 1-1 draw at Atalanta.

Giuseppe Biava put Atalanta ahead four minutes into the second half before Lazio's Marco Parolo equalised in the 77th minute.

The visitors could not find the winner as Atalanta defended deeply to earn a valuable point in their battle to retain their Serie A status.

Josip Ilicic struck twice in the first half as Fiorentina halted a four-match losing streak with a 3-1 home victory over strugglers Cesena.

The Slovenian forward opened the scoring in the 31st minute from the penalty spot after Cesena's Gaby Mudingayi brought down Borja Valero and then added his second of the afternoon four minutes later.

Alberto Gilardino made it 3-0 nine minutes after half-time before Cesena forward Alejandro Rodriguez reduced the arrears before the hour.

The outcome in Florence has lifted Fiorentina above Sampdoria and into fifth place in the standings.

Inter Milan failed to take full advantage of slip-ups involving rivals for a place in the Europa League next season as they were held to a goalless draw at home to Chievo.

Roberto Mancini's men knew a win would have taken them ahead of both Genoa and Sampdoria, but they could not break down a determined Chievo side.

Both sides hit the woodwork, but the deadlock would not be broken as the Nerazzurri drew at home for the seventh time this season.

AC Milan had Mattia De Sciglio sent off inside a minute as they slipped to a 3-0 defeat at Napoli, who moved to within four points of third-placed Lazio.

De Sciglio saw red just 45 seconds into the contest, but it took Napoli 70 minutes to make their extra man count, with Marek Hamsik putting them in front.

Gonzalo Higuain and Manolo Gabbiadini added two more in quick succession to seal the points for Rafael Benitez's men and leave Filippo Inzaghi's Milan all but mathematically out of the running for a place in Europe next season.

Udinese ensured they will compete in Serie A again next season after claiming a 1-0 victory at Hellas Verona on Sunday.

Antonio Di Natale came off the bench to score the only goal of the game in the 62nd minute.

Just two minutes before, the hosts lost defender Jacopo Sala to a red card for a late challenge on Udinese forward Cyril Thereau.

The victory, Udinese's first on the road since January 26, has lifted the Friuli outfit 17 points clear of the drop zone. Cagliari, who are 18th, have no chance of overhauling them.