Serie A: Hernanes at the double as Inter Milan beat Lazio

Hernanes scored twice against his former club Lazio to launch Inter Milan up the Serie A table with a 2-1 win.

Antonio Candreva got Lazio off to a good start but the Brazilian playmaker who once dazzled at the Stadio Olimpico went on to twice exploit lapses in discipline from Champions League-chasing Lazio.

He converted a free-kick after Mauricio was sent off and made use of the extra space created when goalkeeper Federico Marchetti saw red - Mauro Icardi had missed from the spot but Hernanes made amends late on.

The Biancocelesti remain a point behind their second-placed city rivals Roma with three games remaining, while Inter jump two places to seventh and are now just four points shy of a Europa League berth.

Lazio made the perfect start by opening the scoring after only nine minutes.

Felipe Anderson did all the hard work as he accelerated into Inter's box before touching the ball across to Candreva, who turned it home with ease.

The Nerazzurri might have equalised five minutes later when Icardi was presented with an easy finish but, with Federico Marchetti stranded, the Argentinian somehow slammed the ball over the bar.

Lazio enjoyed a double opportunity to extend their lead with Marco Parolo drawing a desperate save from Samir Handanovic before Andrea Ranocchia launched a diving header to deny the Lazio midfielder's follow-up effort.

The capital club had been dominant but Mauricio's dismissal for a last-man foul on Rodrigo Palacio offered Inter a way back into the game.

And they capitalised fully on the red card as Hernanes sent the resultant free-kick around the wall and past his former team-mate Marchetti, celebrating with a somersault rather than restraining himself.

Inter tried to turn the screw before the break, but neither Palacio nor Fredy Guarin could turn the game on its head, thanks to a pair of fine saves from Marchetti.

It was Handanovic's turn to impress on the hour mark as he pulled off a remarkable stop from Miroslav Klose after Candreva had put the German through.

Lazio were soon reduced to nine men when Marchetti brought Icardi down, and the former Sampdoria forward gleefully picked himself up and prepared to take the penalty. Replacement goalkeeper Etrit Berisha denied him, though, guessing correctly and diving to his left.

Despite making such a decisive impact from the bench, the Albanian keeper knew he would spend the next 30 minutes facing an onslaught, and he did hold out for a long time.

The weakened Lazio backline finally let him down in the 84th minute, however, as Palacio's clever backheel allowed Hernanes to waltz into an easy one-on-one.