Lazio appeared to be on course to close the gap on Napoli in third place when they took the lead in the 28th minute as midfielder Stefano Mauri fired in, with Andre Dias then making it two.

But Napoli have been in fantastic form at the San Paolo, not losing at home since league leaders AC Milan won there in October, and two quickfire goals from Andrea Dossena and Cavani brought them right back into the match.

It did not take long for Lazio to find the goal which restored their advantage with Salvatore Aronica putting through his own net, before Cavani netted from the spot following Giuseppe Biava`s sending off.

Cavani, who is now Napoli's all-time top goalscorer in a single season, then completed his hat-trick with one minute of regulation time remaining.

Juventus revived their hopes of playing in Europe next season with a surprise 2-0 away win at Roma.

The Giallorossi dominated the first half and had numerous chances to go ahead, but they were punished for their profligacy on the hour mark when Milos Krasic put the visitors in front.

As Roma gambled to get back into the game, Alessandro Matri added a second to reduce the gap between the two sides to just two points and give the Bianconeri renewed optimism of finishing inside the top six

Parma coach Pasquale Marino lost his job after a 2-1 defeat at home to Bari.

Bari substitute Edgar Alvarez scored an injury-time winner to keep the Galletti's faint hopes of remaining in Serie A alive.

Rooted at the bottom of the table, Bari took a 64th-minute lead when Alessandro Parisi's free-kick beat home goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.

However, Parma striker Amauri looked as if he had earned a point with an 80th-minute header.

The struggling Galletti claimed a precious victory, however, at the Ennio Tardini stadium thanks to Alvarez's goal.

Genoa fell to their first home defeat since January 16 as they were beaten 1-0 by Cagliari to end any lingering hopes they had of playing in Europe next season.

Genoa were beaten by one of their own too with Robert Acquafresca, who is currently on loan from them to Cagliari until the end of the season, scoring the only goal of the game in the 16th minute.

Fabio Caserta grabbed a late equaliser for Cesena but could not prevent them dropping into the Serie A relegation zone with a 2-2 draw against Fiorentina.

The home side had taken the lead from Luis Jimenez's free-kick but Alberto Gilardino and Riccardo Montolivo replied to give Fiorentina the lead.

Caserta struck with just three minutes remaining to secure a share of the spoils, but Lecce's win over Udinese means Cesena drop into the bottom three.

Catania boosted their Serie A survival hopes by producing a blistering second-half display to thrash eighth-placed Palermo 4-0 at the Stadio Angelo Massimino.

Federico Balzaretti's own goal three minutes after the restart proved the catalyst for the Sicilians, with further goals from Gonzalo Bergessio and substitutes Pablo Ledesma and Simone Pesce sealing the rout.

The comprehensive victory moved Diego Simeone's side up a place to 14th in the standings and gave them a five-point cushion over the drop zone.

Sampdoria ended a four-game losing run at fellow strugglers Chievo but the point from a lifeless goalless draw will hardly inspire confidence that they can pull away from the relegation zone.

Samp have now failed to score in six of their past seven games and looked devoid of ideas again with Massimo Maccarone missing their best chance before being substituted.