Rafael Benitez failed to deliver Champions League football to Napoli as his final act before leaving the Serie A club for pastures new ended in a 4-2 defeat at home to Lazio.
Lazio were three points clear in third place heading into Sunday night's end-of-the-season encounter in Naples but the hosts' superior head-to-head record meant a win would see the teams swap places. While Marco Parolo and Antonio Candreva asserted Lazio's authority with first-half goals, Benitez was eager to sign off in style before completing his reported move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.
During half-time he motivated his players to hit back and Gonzalo Higuain's quickfire brace rocked the Biancocelesti before the Argentinian missed a penalty to cool Napoli's comeback. Substitutes Ogenyi Onazi and Miroslav Klose then rubber-stamped Lazio's victory and with it a third-placed finish.
The remit was clear at a bouncing Stadio San Paolo -- Napoli needed to beat their visitors from the capital city to snatch the last UEFA Champions League place.
Andrea Belotti's last-gasp goal spoiled Roma's end-of-season party but the 2-1 defeat could not take away the joy of finishing second in Serie A.
Palermo have enjoyed a promising return to the top flight and proved to be unfazed by the bright lights of the Stadio Olimpico by taking the lead through a first-half Franco Vazquez penalty. An under-par Roma looked to have salvaged a point as Francesco Totti closed to within a single goal of the 300 mark with a classy strike at the death, but Belotti had the last word.
Mauro Icardi grabbed a share of the coveted 'Capocannoniere' award by scoring twice to boost Inter Milan to a 4-3 final-day victory over Empoli.
The young Argentinian managed to match 38-year-old Hellas Verona striker Luca Toni on 22 goals for the now-completed Serie A campaign when dragging Inter past plucky Empoli at San Siro.
Rodrigo Palacio and Marcelo Brozovic were also on target, with Levan Mchedlidze bagging a brace for 15th-placed Empoli, whose odd goal was supplied by Leonardo Pucciarelli.
But with Sampdoria taking a point from Parma to secure seventh place, Inter's win was not enough to steer them into the Europa League and a summer of rebuilding awaits boss Roberto Mancini.
Plucky Parma salvaged a point from their last game in Serie A, an exciting 2-2 draw at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris which saw Sampdoria cling onto the final Europa League place.
The bankrupt club have been doomed for months but relegation has removed the shackles and seventh-placed Samp could not open the scoring through Alessandro Romagnoli until after the break.
Raffaele Palladino grabbed Parma's penultimate goal in the top division and, after Lorenzo De Silvestri re-established Samp's lead, Silvestre Varela plundered a confidence-boosting late leveller.
Fiorentina finished their Serie A campaign on a five-game winning streak after beating 10-man Chievo 3-0 on Sunday evening.
The triumph capped an impressive campaign for the Tuscan outfit, who leapfrogged Napoli into a fourth-place. Josip Ilicic put the Viola on their way with their opening goal in the 12th minute.
After Chievo's Sergio Pellissier hit a left-footed shot off the post in the 61st minute, the visitors lost midfielder Isaac Cofie to a second yellow card. Fiorentina took advantage of their numerical superiority with substitute Federico Bernardeschi adding a second goal in the 76th minute before Milan Badelj made it 3-0 deep into stoppage time.
Vincenzo Montella's team climbed above Napoli - who lost 4-2 at home to Lazio - as they condemned Chievo to a four-match winless run to finish 14th in the table with 43 points.
Fiorentina reached the semifinals of the Coppa Italia and were in the last four of the Europa League, a competition they will play in next season.
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