Napoli routs last-place Pescara 5-1 in Serie A

ROME (AP) -- Chasing its first title since Diego Maradona played for the club, Napoli thrashed 10-man Pescara 5-1 Sunday to move back within two points of Serie A leader Juventus.

Gokhan Inler and Edinson Cavani each scored twice and Marek Hamsik also found the target for Napoli. Iceland midfielder Birkir Bjarnason scored for last-place Pescara in the 18th minute to briefly make it 2-1, and the match turned back in Napoli's favor when Pescara defender Antonio Bocchetti was sent off for tripping Cavani in the 57th.

Also Sunday, Inter Milan struggled to beat Palermo 1-0 with an own goal from Santiago Garcia in the 74th.

Juventus, which beat 10-man Torino 3-0 in the Turin derby Saturday, has 35 points. Napoli is next with 33 and Inter is third with 31.

Maradona led Napoli to its only two Serie A titles, in 1987 and 1990.

Napoli finished third two seasons ago, but struggled to balance domestic duties with the Champions League last season and fell to fifth.

"There's still a long way to go,'' Hamsik said. "We face Inter next, so it's going to be a matchup of two squads that are in form.''

Lazio is fourth with 29 points after beating Parma 2-1 with goals from Giuseppe Biava and Miroslav Klose.

Fiorentina had a chance to rejoin Inter in third when it puts its eight-match unbeaten run on the line against Sampdoria later Sunday.

Also, sixth-place Roma came back to beat Siena 3-1 with two goals from Mattia Destro and one from Simone Perrotta.

In other matches, it was: Udinese 4, Cagliari 1; Bologna 2, Atalanta 1; and Genoa 2, Chievo Verona 4.