Rigano then wrapped up the three points when he fired home just after the hour mark at the Celeste stadium.

Lazio kept their Champions League hopes on track by securing a 1-0 home win over Sampdoria.

Tommaso Rocchi’s header midway through the first half gave the Biancoceleste their fourth victory in a row.

The result allowed the Romans to hang on to their fourth position in the standings, as they are two points clear of Empoli and three above AC Milan.

Udinese’s hopes of gaining a UEFA Cup berth were dealt a huge blow as Nicola Pozzi’s first-half goal handed Empoli a 1-0 triumph at the Stadio Friuli.

The defeat stretches Udinese’s winless run to six games and leaves them eight points behind Milan, who hold the final European spot in Serie A.

Luca Toni struck twice to inspire Fiorentina to a come-from-behind 5-1 win over Torino.

The Italy striker scored two goals in the space of two minutes after Torino midfielder Alessandro Rosina had given the visitors a 14th-minute lead.

Toro were handed another blow with Ivan Franceschini scored an own goal shortly after the restart before Alessandro Gamberini netted twice to round off the scoring.

Goalkeeper Christian Abbiati denied the Viola a sixth of the afternoon with a fine save from Adrian Mutu’s penalty five minutes from time.

At the wrong end of the table, Giuseppe Rossi’s penalty in the seventh minute of added time earned Parma a 2-2 draw against Reggina, although the striker had spurned a golden opportunity for his side to claim the win by missing an earlier spot-kick.

The on-loan Manchester United player stepped up deep into stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes to convert from the spot, cancelling out Rolando Bianchi’s second for Reggina, which came just minutes after Rossi had seen his first penalty saved.

Earlier, Bianchi had fired the visitors to the Stadio Ennio Tardini into the lead inside 15 minutes, while Igor Budan’s goal brought the hosts back into the game midway through the first period.

Cagliari ended a run of three straight defeats and picked up vital points in their battle to avoid relegation with a 2-0 victory over Atalanta.

Coach Marco Giampaolo endured a disappointing first game back in charge of the club when his side went down 1-0 at Torino on Wednesday, but his team set about avoiding a repeat as early as the fourth minute when David Suazo found the net.

Cristiano Doni’s penalty miss was a let-off for the hosts and Atalanta inflicted more self-harm with Pereira Adriano’s 66th-minute red card before Simone Pepe made sure of the win with Cagliari’s second 20 minutes from time.

Catania ended their run of three successive defeats with a 1-1 draw against Siena.

Both goals came after the interval, Giorgio Corona giving the home side a lead which was cancelled out by Francesco Cozza.

The match was again played at the neutral ground of Rimini and behind closed doors as Catania’s punishment continues following the violence which marred last month’s Sicilian derby with Palermo.