Serie A round-up: Keita's hat-trick lifts Lazio as Empoli stuns Milan

Milan - A Keita Balde hat-trick in a 6-2 romp over Palermo boosted Lazio's Europe League hopes on Sunday as AC Milan edged further away from Europe with a shock 2-1 home defeat to Empoli.

Inspired by Atalanta's 3-2 win over Bologna that pushed the high-flying Bergamo side up to fourth, Lazio responded to the challenge from Gian Piero Gasperini's men in defiant fashion at the Stadio Olimpico.

A Ciro Immobile brace had Lazio up 2-0 inside 10 minutes and a Balde hat-trick in the space of five first-half minutes, including a 24th-minute penalty, secured the points well before the half-time interval.

Palermo hit back with a second-half brace from Andrea Rispoli, but Luca Crecco wrapped up an emphatic win with a goal in the first minute of added-on time to secure a 19th league win and a return to fourth spot.

Lazio reduced the gap on third-placed Napoli, held 2-2 at Sassuolo, to seven points to reinforce its bid for a Europa League place.

Atalanta is back in fifth spot at one point further behind, with AC Milan, which saw Spanish forward Suso miss a second-half penalty, still in sixth but now five points behind the Europa League places.

A week after snatching a share of the spoils with a late equaliser in a 2-2 derby draw at Inter, Milan had the incentive of breaking away from its city rival following the Nerazzurri's shock 5-4 defeat at Fiorentina on Saturday.

But seven-time European champion Milan showed few credentials worthy of the European stage against a team battling for top-flight survival.

Milan 'keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma tipped Omar El Kaddouri's effort out from under the bar early on, and from a set play by the Moroccan, Milan defender Cristian Zapata let Levan Mchedlidze get in front of him to nod Empoli's 40th-minute opener.

Mchedlidze was stretchered off with a suspected knee injury after landing awkwardly minutes after the restart, but the blow didn't deter the visitor as it bid to stave off the threat of relegation.

Milan saw Suso curl wide, and when Skorupski was ruled to have fouled Mario Pasalic after making a save on Gerard Deulofeu, the Empoli 'keeper stepped up to the mark by saving Suso's subsequent spot-kick with his leg before rebounding to deny a Gianluca Lapadula follow-up.

Milan coach Vincenzo Montella replaced Matias Fernandez with striker Carlos Bacca, who spurned a great chance to level from close range after Skorupski fumbled a corner.

It proved costly when Empoli doubled its lead moments later, veteran striker Massimo Maccarone coolly knocking down a cross for Mame Thiam, who was left unmarked to blast past Donnarumma from 10 yards.

A defiant Lapadula reduced arrears on 72 minutes, but Milan failed to capitalise on further chances from Lucas Ocampos and Pasalic and was lucky to escape further punishment when Donnarumma denied Maccarone and Thiam in the dying seconds of stoppage time.

The win left Empoli fourth from bottom but five points ahead of Crotone, which gave its survival hopes a boost with a defiant 2-1 win at Sampdoria.