Zarate puts skids on Genoa Champions charge

Argentina international striker Mauro Zarate scored the only goal of the game as Lazio put a dent in Genoa’s Champions League bid with a 1-0 away win on Saturday.

Genoa still hold fourth spot in Serie A, the last position which earns a place in the Champions League, but Fiorentina can over-take them if they beat Udinese on Sunday.

Zarate’s 65th minute winner, on the counter-attack, kept alive Lazio’s slim hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Cup as it moved them up to seventh, one place bellow city rivals AS Roma.

Genoa could have closed to within a point of third-placed AC Milan with a victory but in suffering only their second home defeat of the season will now be looking anxiously over their shoulders instead of aiming at those ahead.