Napoli have closed the gap on Serie A leaders Juventus to three points with a 2-1 away victory over Parma.

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The win sees the Naples outfit remain second in the league table, three points clear of third-placed Lazio.

Walter Mazzarri's side had an early chance through Goran Pandev, but the striker blasted over the cross from a good position inside the Parma penalty box.

Napoli went ahead in the 20th minute when Marek Hamsik latched onto Blerim Dzemaili's through-ball and found the target with an angled drive.

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Parma thought that they had equalised when Morgan De Sanctis palmed Nicola Sansone's volley at the back post, but the referee deemed that the ball had not crossed the line.

The hosts had another attempt on goal denied by a goalline clearance, this time Paolo Cannavaro heading Marco Parolo's fierce effort from under the Napoli crossbar.

Napoli themselves went close to making it 2-0 before the break with Hugo Campagnaro's forcing Antonio Mirante into a good save, before Edinson Cavani headed Hamsik's cross just wide.

Parma stepped up their game at the start of the second half, as Jonathan Biabiany drew out a save from De Sanctis with a close-range header.

Napoli soon settled back into the match but conceded the equaliser in the 74th minute, Paolo Cannavaro inadvertently putting the ball inside his own goal.

However, Cavani made sure that Napoli returned home with maximum points when he turned in Lorenzo Insigne's pass into the net from close range.