Vieri eclipses Batistuta debut

Christian Vieri outshone Inter Milan new boy Gabriel Batistuta by grabbing a hat-trick as the Nerazzurri moved back into second place in Serie A with a convincing 3-0 victory against Empoli.

The visitors kept Inter at bay until the 69th minute when Vieri finally broke the deadlock at the San Siro.

And Hector Cuper’s side put last week’s shock defeat by Perugia firmly behind them when the Italian international crashed home in the 73rd and 85th minutes.

Inter leapfrogged cash-strapped Lazio, whose 16-match unbeaten run came to an end with a shock 1-0 home defeat to lowly Reggina.

Emiliano Bonazzoli’s second-half strike was enough to hand the visitors their fourth win of the season and boosted their chances of avoiding relegation.

Juventus overcame the tragedy of the death of club patron Gianni Agnelli to move into third place with a 2-0 victory over Piacenza.

FIAT supremo Agnelli died on Friday at the age of 81 and Juve gave him a fitting tribute with an inspired performance.

Alessandro Del Piero opened the scoring after just 10 minutes before Czech playmaker Pavel Nedved doubled the lead two minutes before half-time.

Piacenza were reduced to 10 men when Alessandro Rinaldi was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Luciano returned to Chievo’s line-up after completing his suspension for playing under a false passport, but he could not prevent his side from suffering a 1-0 defeat at Perugia.

The Brazilian midfielder, who was formerly known as Eriberto, had a disappointing return and was even substituted in the 70th minute.

But the damage had already been done as Marco Di Loreto’s 37th-minute strike gave the hosts all three points.

Torino moved off the bottom of the table thanks to a 2-2 draw at sixth-placed Bologna.

Renzo Ulivieri’s side led twice through Simone Vergassola’s eighth-minute strike and Jose Maria Franco’s goal in the 65th minute.

But they were pegged back as Bologna striker Giuseppe Signori netted from the penalty spot in the 40th minute before Luigi Della Rocca sealed a point for his side in the 81st minute.

And Torino finished the game with 10 men as Diego De Ascentis was dismissed deep into stoppage time.

Veteran midfielder Roberto Baggio gave lowly Brescia a crucial point by grabbing the equaliser in their 1-1 home draw with Parma.

The visitors took the lead when Daniele Bonera hit the target in the seventh minute, but former Italy star Baggio struck in the 39th minute to give his side their f