ROME — Lazio bounced back from two debilitating losses to beat Napoli 4-2 Sunday and secure a spot in the Champions League playoffs on the final day of the Serie A season. Lazio finished third, five points ahead of Fiorentina and six ahead of Napoli, qualifying for the final playoff round for the lucrative European competition in August. Substitute Eddy Onazi scored the winner five minutes from time after both sides were reduced to 10 men. Marco Parolo and Antonio Candreva gave Lazio a 2-0 lead at halftime but Gonzalo Higuain scored twice early in the second half to draw Napoli level. Napoli would have finished third with a win and the southern club had its chance but Higuain sent a penalty high in the 76th. Miroslav Klose added a headed goal for Lazio in added time. Lazio lost the Italian Cup final to Juventus 2-1 after extra time last week then was beaten by city rival Roma with the same score in a heated derby Monday. “This is a huge accomplishment,” Candreva said. “When Higuain's penalty was called I thought we were out of the (Champions League). But it went how it went and now third place is a huge prize. “After the derby loss we were a bit down and disappointed,” Candreva added. “But we put together a great performance in a tough stadium against a very strong opponent.” Napoli coach Rafa Benitez announced Friday that this would be his last match with the club. He leaves on a sour note, amid speculation that he will soon be announced as Carlo Ancelotti's replacement at Real Madrid. Juventus clinched its fourth straight title weeks ago, and Roma secured second with the derby win. Roma finished 17 points behind Juventus and one ahead of Lazio after getting beat 2-1 at home by Palermo in its final match, which was mostly meaningless. Franco Vazquez put Palermo ahead with a first-half penalty, Roma's 38-year-old captain Francesco Totti equalized in the 85th and Andrea Belotti scored the winner for Palermo in added time. Fiorentina moved ahead of Napoli with a 3-0 win over 10-man Chievo Verona, with goals from Josip Ilicic, Federico Bernardeschi and Milan Badelj. Maurco Icardi scored twice and also had an assist in Inter Milan's 4-3 win over Empoli to finish joint top scorer with Hellas Verona's Luca Toni — with 22 goals each, two more than Juve's Carlos Tevez. Toni, who turned 38 Tuesday, became the oldest “capocannoniere” in Serie A history. Dario Hubner, who was joint top scorer with David Trezeguet at the age of 35 in 2001-02, was the previous oldest leader. “Achieving this at my age is something special,” said the 22-year-old Icardi. Also, it was: Sampdoria 2, Parma 2; Sassuolo 3, Genoa 1; Torino 5, Cesena 0; and Cagliari 4, Udinese 3. The next Serie A season is slated to start Aug. 22-23. — AP
