Quiet man leads Lazio onto the shoulder of the champions

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Everyone needs a helping hand when they're chasing the title, and Lazio were given one on Sunday when Sergio Floccari opened the scoring against Atalanta.

The striker clearly controlled a rebound off the crossbar with his right arm before smashing the ball into the net â and from there the Romans went on to wrap up the points when Atalanta defender Davide Brivio dived to head into his own net.

The home win, coupled with another stuttering performance from Juventus in their draw at Parma, cuts the gap at the top from eight to three points â and the Eaglesâ claws are sharpened to grab the top perch if Antonio ConteâÂÂs team continue to drop points.

In fact, the Juve coach inadvertently helped set up ParmaâÂÂs equaliser when he shouted out to Mirko Vucinic to leave a long clearance from the home side, only for the ball to land at the feet of Nicola Sansone who raced through to score.


Petkovic: Quietly assured Lazio boss

Lotito is a bit of a thrift-shop club owner and no doubt the mere â¬600,000 salary tempted him to go with an unknown coach â but Petkovic demanded a peformance-related bonus, which he is well on the way to triggering.

It is a self-belief that he has generated amongst the players and despite possessing only one out-and-out attacker in Miroslav Klose, with Floccari the back-up after Tommaso RocchiâÂÂs move to Inter, the team has gone on a 14-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

Sven-Goran ErikssonâÂÂs side were undefeated for 24 matches in the 1997-98, the springboard for a period of success that led to the club winning its last title in the 1999-2000 campaign â and PetkovicâÂÂs side now have the exact number of points, 42, as ErikssonâÂÂs scudetto winners at the same stage of the season.

Klose may be carrying the bulk of the goalscoring duties but Petkovic has got the rest of the team playing for the German striker and in a masterstroke has re-established Hernanes as a deep-lying playmaker â a position he occupied when playing in Brazil.

Not only is he the chief assist man but by starting runs later into the area, the skilful South American has helped on the scoring front: with seven goals, he's just three behind Klose.

Wins have generally been of the 1-0 or 2-1 variety, with Sunday's 2-0 being extravagant for Lazio â but history has demonstrated that Serie A success is built around such meagre margins coupled with frugal defending.

Needless to say, Lazio have given little away at the back: their 19 goals against in 20 games is bettered only by Juventus (14) and the 18 of Napoli, Juve's other chief title rival five points off the pace.

Across town, Roma may have been grabbing all the headlines as the leagueâÂÂs top goalscorers with 43 goals but their expansive style of play comes at a cost: they've conceded 34, Serie A's third-worst defensive record, and languish 10 points behind their city rivals.

Petkovic would never be so reckless in his approach â and for now he is proving that prudence is the better part of valour.