Serie A round-up: Substitute Keita Balde keeps Lazio’s Europa League hopes ticking over

Lazio's Marco Parolo, right, vies for the ball with Empoli's Manuel Pasqual during a Serie A match on Saturday, February 18, 2017. (Claudio Giovannini / AP Photo

MILAN // Senegal striker Keita Balde came off the bench to hit a late winner in a 2-1 defeat of Empoli that boosted Lazio’s Europa League hopes on Saturday.

Lazio remain in fifth place at 16 points behind Juventus, who saw Paulo Dybala hit a double in a 4-1 win over former club Palermo on Friday to stretch the Turin giants’ Serie A lead over Roma to 10 points.

Roma, in second, can restore their seven-point deficit with a win at home to Torino on Sunday. Fellow title challengers Napoli, two points further off the pace, sit third before visiting Chievo on Sunday.

Simone Inzaghi’s Lazio are one of several sides looking to secure at least a top-five finish and an automatic place in the Europa League.

He told Sky Sport: “We’re up there and we want to stay here. The fans really gave us their support and I think we paid them back because we saw a good performance tonight.

“The only negative aspect was not scoring in the first half when we had a few chances. As so often happens, you pay for those misses.

“But the lads did well to pull it back and claim the victory.”

Lazio were under pressure to keep pace after unheralded Atalanta, in fourth, maintained their purple patch with a 1-0 home win over struggling Crotone.

And Empoli were in no mood for giving up their fight to stay away from the relegation zone.

Giovanni Martusciello’s side are a notoriously tough nut to crack at their Castellani stadium, which almost saw a candidate for goal of the season when Manuel Pucciarelli’s volley edged just over Thomas Strakosha’s crossbar.

At the other end, Lazio striker Ciro Immobile stung Lukasz Skorupski’s gloves and saw an angled drive finger-tipped round the base of the upright.

When sent clear on a through ball, Felipe Anderson scuffed his finish with the goal at his mercy.

Skorupski had to perform heroics to keep out Marco Parolo’s daring shot from distance, then produced a great one-handed save on an Immobile cutback from the by-line as Anderson lurked in front of goal.

It took until halfway through the second period for the deadlock to be broken, and Rade Krunic had the home fans in raptures with a 25-yard drive whose swerve in flight gave a diving Strakosha no chance.

But their joy was short-lived. Anderson’s cross was deflected and Immobile, spotting the opportunity, held off his maker on the edge of the box to expertly poke the ball past Skorupski.

Balde, recently targeted by hardline Lazio “ultra” fans, replaced Sergej Milinkovic-Savic just before the hour but needed a slice of luck to clinch Lazio’s 80th-minute winner.

A through ball by Anderson came off an Empoli body and Keita pounced to fire a deflected volley past Skorupski from eight yards.

Empoli’s 13th defeat kept them in 17th, eight points above third-from-bottom Palermo.

They also own the league’s worst goals record, having now scored just 15 in 25 outings, but Martusciello said: “If you look at the league it’s true we haven’t scored a lot, but more than anything we’ve wasted a lot of the chances we created.

“I would be far more worried if we weren’t creating anything.”

Earlier, Atalanta made it three wins on the trot to maintain their dream season and push for a place in Europe next year.

Andrea Conti hit a 48th-minute winner for Gian Piero Gasperini’s men under the watchful eyes of scouts from Chelsea, who according to reports in Italy will “make a serious” offer for the right-back next summer.

He said: “I always try and go out and give it my best, but in spite of my goal it wasn’t one of my better performances.”

RESULTS

Friday

■ Juventus 4 Palermo 1

Saturday

■ Atalanta 1 Crotone 0

■ Empoli 1 Lazio 2

FIXTURES

Sunday (times UAE)

■ Bologna v Inter Milan, 3.30pm

■ Chievo v Napoli, 6pm

■ Pescara v Genoa, 6pm

■ Sampdoria v Cagliari, 6pm

■ Udinese v Sassuolo, 6pm

■ Roma v Torino, 9pm

■ AC Milan v Fiorentina, 11.45pm

* Agence France-Presse

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