Napoli 4 Frosinone 0: Record-breaking Higuain clinches automatic Champions League spot

Gonzalo Higuain broke the record for most goals in a single Serie A season as Napoli clinched their place in the Champions League group stage with a 4-0 win over 10-man Frosinone.

Napoli headed into their final fixture of the season knowing they needed a victory to be sure of second spot in Serie A ahead of Roma and Higuain netted a second-half hat-trick to move onto 36 goals for the season.

The former Real Madrid striker's treble sees him surpass the previous mark of 35 set by AC Milan's Gunnar Nordahl during the 1949-50 campaign.

Mirko Gori's early red card for dissent put Napoli in the driving seat at Stadio San Paolo, before Marek Hamsik broke the deadlock from close range just shy of the half-time whistle.

Higuain netted from an Allan cutback to open his account seven minutes after the restart, before touching home a right-wing cross to make it 2-0 and pull level with Nordahl.

And the Argentina international's feat was complete after 71 minutes thanks to an acrobatic bicycle kick that flew in after he took the ball down on his chest on edge of the penalty area, clinching history in spectacular fashion.

The result sees Napoli finish two points ahead of third-placed Roma and nine behind champions Juventus.