Rome: Stefano Mauri scored twice as Lazio beat Atalanta 3-0 to move provisionally into a tie for third with Genoa in Serie A on Saturday. After a dull first half, Mauri scored in the 51st and 71st minutes and Senad Lulic added another for the Roman club in the 81st at the Stadio Olimpico.
Lazio and Genoa are each one point ahead of Sampdoria in the race for third place and the final Champions League berth. On Sunday, Genoa hosts second-place Roma, and Sampdoria visits league leader Juventus.
Earlier, host Palermo beat nine-man Sassuolo 2-1 to move into the top half of the table and extend its unbeaten streak to seven matches.
The Sicilian side leapfrogged Sassuolo by moving into ninth place, while Sassuolo, which had its unbeaten streak halted at eight, dropped to 11th.
In Rome, Mauri's first goal was a tap-in following a cross from Felipe Anderson. Then the Lazio captain scored his sixth goal in 10 appearances with a shot from the edge of the area following another setup from Anderson.
Lulic headed in a cross from Dusan Basta.
Atalanta didn't produce a shot on goal until Carlos Carmona launched an effort from 25 yards in the 83rd, which Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti controlled easily.
In Palermo, substitute Andrea Belotti scored the winner three minutes into added time with an angled shot from the edge of the box following a perfect setup from midfielder Franco Vazquez.
Palermo took the lead when Luca Rigoni headed in from a Paulo Dybala corner three minutes in.
Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli was sent off in the 66th for a last-man foul on Enzo Maresca outside the area following a long pass from Dybala, a 21-year-old Argentine forward who has seven goals this season and is gaining interest on the transfer market.
Sassuolo substitute Leonardo Pavoletti equalized with his first Serie A goal in the 85th, three minutes after going on, after defender Sinisa Andelkovic gifted him the ball.
After Belotti's goal, Sassuolo defender Paolo Cannavaro was shown a direct red card six minutes into added time for a hard foul on Dybala.
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