Christian Vieri scored his second goal in five days since his return from injury as Lazio beat Serie A leaders Fiorentina 2-0 last night. Fiorentina, leading the way since November 8th, were replaced by Parma who won 6-3 at Piacenza earlier on a day which also saw Inter Milan crush Venezia 6-2 and AS Roma lose 4-3 at Cagliari to a last-minute goal.
Parma head the table on goal difference, level on 32 points with Fiorentina and three points clear of a Lazio side who appear to have rediscovered their appetite for victory now Vieri is back.
Vieri, who scored Lazio's winner at Bologna in midweek in his first match since he limped out of an Italian Cup match with a knee injury in October, hammered a left-foot shot to the net after 67 minutes.
Fiorentina ended the match with 10 men after defender Pasquale Padalino was sent off for a second bookable offence, a foul on Marcelo Salas 30 metres from goal.
Up stepped Yugoslav full back Sinisa Mihajlovic to curl an unstoppable free kick past Toldo and seal Lazio's deserved win.
In Spain, leaders Mallorca won 2-1 at home to European Cup champions Real Madrid yesterday to stamp their authority on the Spanish League, which they head by a point.
Celta Vigo are in second spot following their 2-0 win at Tenerife in a late kick-off thanks to second-half goals from Valery Karpin and Brazilian Mazinho.
Valencia, who drew 2-2 at Oviedo, are in third place with Barcelona, who let fly with a goal spree in their 4-2 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday night, in fourth spot.
