Fiorentina up to second after thumping Udinese

Fiorentina assumed second place in the Serie A table by trouncing Udinese 3-0 at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.Napoli's defeat at Bologna left them vulnerable to being leapfrogged by La Viola, who duly obliged thanks to goals from Milan Badelj, Josip Ilicic and Gonzalo Rodriguez.Paulo Sousa's men are now one point behind leaders Inter Milan. Their next league engagement sees them visit bitter rivals Juventus and victory there, coupled with a poor result for Inter at Udinese, would take the Tuscans top.Badelj's opener arrived in the 26th minute, the Croatian midfielder blasting Edenilson's poor clearance against the legs of team-mate Nikola Kalinic to wrong-foot Udinese goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis.The Bianconeri almost equalised on the half-hour mark with Cyril Thereau heading against a post from a corner.It was nip-and-tuck for a while after the break, at least until Fiorentina were gifted an opportunity to double their lead. Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu brought Kalinic down in the box and Ilicic gladly obliged from the penalty spot.Mid-table Udinese, who had been targeting a third straight win having beaten Sampdoria and Chievo in recent weeks, knew their race was run in Florence and could do little about their hosts' final strike of the afternoon.Full of confidence now that all three points were in the bag, Fiorentina piled bodies forward at an 86th-minute corner and it was Argentinian defender Rodriguez who rose highest to nod the ball beyond Karnezis.