Serie A: Napoli move back up to fourth with 3-0 victory over Fiorentina

Napoli shrugged off the disappointment of a disallowed ghost goal to push on and beat Fiorentina 3-0 to retake fourth place in the Serie A table.

The Azzurri had tumbled to sixth on the back of five games without a win but returned to the race for a Champions League place when Dries Mertens opened the scoring midway through the first half.

Gonzalo Higuain's thunderous drive appeared to cross the line before the break, only for the officials to rule otherwise, meaning Marek Hamsik and Jose Callejon had to make the points safe.

Napoli would end the first half with a one-goal advantage but boasted a strong argument they should have been 2-0 up.

After 10 minutes Mertens tried to beat Neto and Manolo Gabbiadini was soon knocking with only the fast reactions of defender Stefan Savic keeping the young Italian at bay.

Mertens made the breakthrough on 23 minutes. The Belgian winger skipped towards the D from the left wing and, when it looked like he might pass sideways, he instead pinged the ball home.

Napoli upped the pressure after taking the lead and were celebrating again, briefly, on 35 minutes.

Higuain wheeled away after watching his powerful effort clatter the crossbar, bounce over the goal-line then come back straight out, but referee Antonio Damato was unmoved.

The strike looked good but, despite Napoli's protests, they were restricted to 1-0 come half-time.

Mariano Andujar had to look lively to keep Borja Valero out when play resumed, but the Fiorentina midfielder was ruled offside anyway.

Napoli bit back with Gabbiadini letting rip at the end of a swift counter-attack - his effort shaved paint off a post - and another rapid raid almost saw Higuain notch.

The Argentinian had a gilt-edged opportunity when Savic slipped to allow him space in front of Neto, but he took too long and ran out of time to finish.

Hamsik spared his team-mate's blushes and made up for the ghost goal by extending Napoli's lead in the 71st minute.

Served in splendid fashion by Callejon, the Slovakian beat Neto with a cool right-footed touch.

Fiorentina had been second-best throughout and let their heads drop completely in the final moments.

That allowed Callejon plenty of room to receive Lorenzo Insigne's pass and drive it beyond Neto with only one minute remaining at the Stadio San Paolo.