| Stefano Mauri bagged a brace as Lazio snatched a precious win to leapfrog past Messina in the standings. This was an opportunity for revenge after the Sicilians eliminated Lazio from the Coppa Italia in August at the end of an epic 4-3 victory in extra time. Marco Zanchi continued to sit out his three-match ban, as Coach Bruno Giordano faced the club he'd played for in his career.
Capocannoniere Christian Rigano' sprung the offside trap and fired just over, but it was Lazio who took the lead with a bit of luck. Stefano Mauri's free kick took a massive deflection off the wall to send Marco Storari the wrong way. Massimo Mutarelli and Emilson Sanchez Cribari were closed down at the last moment, while Storari parried another Mutarelli long-range attempt. A corner kick fell to Gaby Mudingayi, but he could only balloon over the bar from a promising position. Peruzzi had to rush out to clear from Rigano' after a poor Cribari back-pass, Messina only really threatened on the stroke of half-time with Arturo Di Napoli's wayward header. Rigano' correctly had a goal disallowed for offside after the restart, then the referee pointed to the spot for a soft penalty in Guillermo Stendardo's nudge on Di Napoli. Rigano' converted for his ninth goal of the season. The situation lasted just three minutes, as Pandev took advantage of a defensive distraction to chip the ball over Storari and restore Lazio's lead. Mauri completed his brace in the final minutes. He combined with Luciano Zauri and after the first shot was parried, he fired in the second attempt from six yards. Stephen Makinwa put the result beyond doubt as Messina fell apart at the back. A smart counter-attack allowed the Nigerian to score with a left-foot angled drive. | 
