Leaders Lazio snatch fifth straight win in Serie A

ROME - Lazio remained at the top of the Italian Serie A Sunday, winning 1-0 at Palermo although they ended the lunch-time match with 10 men.

Brazilian defender Andre Dias ventured into Palermo’s area in the 27th minute to volley home the winner for the Rome club.

“We have 22 points, we are obtaining very good results and the team has character, grit and knows how to suffer as it did today,” Lazio coach Edy Reja said.

“We keep going, saying that we still miss 18 points to reach the famous 40 points (to avoid relegation). Then we will see what happens,” he added modestly.

Dias’s goal secured the Rome side’s fifth straight win from nine games and kept them four points clear of champions Inter Milan, whose crosstown rivals AC Milan are third on 17 points.

Inter won 1-0 at Genoa Friday while Saturday Roma defeated Lecce 2-0 and Milan crashed 2-1 at home to Juventus.

At the Renzo Barbera, Palermo’s Argentine ace Javier Pastore came close early in the game before Lazio captain Stefano Mauri missed a chance inside the area.

Lazio goalkeeper Fernando Muslera blocked a volley from Chilean Mauricio Pinilla and was helped by a defender on Pastore’s flick, while on the other end Dias was on target into the top right corner off a free kick from the right wing.

Defender Giuseppe Biava was dismissed with a second yellow card with 13 minutes left but Palermo’s fight for the equalizer saw no results as Muslera saved good efforts from Pinilla and Mattia Cassani.

In Sunday afternoon action, visiting Udinese claimed a fourth straight victory by beating Bari 2-0 with goals from Chileans Alexis Sanchez and Mauricio Isla.

Argentine Ezequiel Lavezzi scored the winner as Napoli defeated promoted Brescia 1-0, and Riccardo Pazzini’s last-gasp goal secured a 1-0 victory for Sampdoria at promoted Cesena.

Cagliari prevailed 2-0 over Bologna, while newcomers Parma had Swiss midfielder Blerim Dzemaili dismissed in the second half of their 0-0 draw with Chievo.

Fiorentina welcomed back Romanian striker Adrian Mutu from a nine-month doping ban, but only drew 0-0 late Sunday at Catania and remained one point above a group of four tail-ending sides.