Lazio won for the seventh consecutive match in Serie A by beating Cagliari 3-1 at the Stadio Sant'Elia this afternoon.
Stefano Mauri had the first effort on goal for the visitors, but, after rising to meet Marco Parolo's delivery, his close-range header was blocked by Zeljko Brkic.
© Getty Images
As the game edged past the half-hour mark, the visitors broke the deadlock through Miroslav Klose, who was on hand to finish Mauri's layoff from close range.
Paul-Jose M'Poku almost equalised for Cagliari just before half time, but his powerful long-range free kick was kept out by Federico Marchetti.
Within four minutes of the second half, the home side did manage to draw level when Marco Sau latched onto a ball over the top and fired in a volley from a tight angle that deflected off Mauricio and looped over the stranded Marchetti.
On the hour mark, Lazio were given the chance to retake the lead when Keita Balde Diao was brought down inside the box by Luca Rossettini and the referee pointed to the spot.
Lucas Biglia stepped up to take the penalty and made no mistake by rolling the ball into the bottom corner, with Brkic diving the wrong way.
The Biancocelesti were then awarded another penalty after Modibo Diakite brought down Keita, and the defender was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Once again Biglia took the spot kick, but this time he opted for power and smashed his effort high over the bar.
Lazio continued to dominate and they almost found the net when Keita's shot beat the keeper, but was cleared off the line by Antonio Balzano.
In stoppage timem Lazio did manage to score a third as Parolo crashed home a free kick to finally seal the points and strengthen their grip on a top-three spot.
Alex Meyers
