Napoli defeats Lecce 3-0 in Serie A

NAPLES, Italy (AP) -- Napoli defeated Lecce 3-0 Saturday to pull itself into a three-way tie for second place in Serie A.

Striker Ezequiel Lavezzi earned a penalty for Napoli in the 11th minute that teammate Marek Hamsik converted for the early lead. Lecce goalkeeper Francesco Benussi had taken down Lavezzi at the edge of the area for a yellow card that gave Napoli the penalty.

Napoli moved to 30 points to go level with AC Milan and Juventus, who face off Sunday. Inter Milan leads with 36 points and hosts Chievo Verona on Sunday.

"We know we are playing well, but we have to keep getting better," said Lavezzi. "We won today and now we'll see how the Milan-Juve game goes."

Michele Pazienza scored his first goal in Serie A to make it 2-0 at the end of the first half and German Denis scored his seventh of the season in the 65th. Pazienza had come on just a few minutes before scoring to replace an injured Hamsik.

Also Saturday, Marco Di Vaio scored a hat trick and Bologna came from behind twice to defeat Torino 5-2 with five second-half goals.

Ignazio Abate put Torino ahead after seven minutes, a lead that held until Sergio Volpi pulled Bologna even early in the second half.

Simone Barone gave Torino the lead again in the 53rd, but Di Vaio responded with two goals in eight minutes to put Bologna in front.

Marco Bernacci and Di Vaio converted penalties to give Bologna insurance goals. Di Vaio is tied for the league lead through 16 games with 12 goals.

Torino in its last five games has managed just one draw to go with four losses.

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