Serie A: Gonzalo Higuain strikes as Fiorentina hold Napoli to a 1-1 draw

Florence: Second-place Napoli were held to a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Monday, allowing Juventus to open up a three-point lead with 11 rounds remaining in the Italian league.

"We took a point away from a difficult stadium," Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina said. "We're going to continue to fight for the title."

Marcos Alonso put Fiorentina ahead after six minutes by meeting a corner with a header.

It only took 67 seconds for Napoli to equalise, with a poor clearance from Alonso turning into an assist for Gonzalo Higuain's league-best 25th goal of the season.

Fiorentina had several chances to reclaim the lead before the break, with Nikola Kalinic and Cristian Tello each hitting the crossbar and Milan Badelj missing a long-distance effort.

"The performance of the squad was very positive," Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa said.

Juventus beat Inter Milan 2-0 on Sunday.

Earlier, seventh-place Sassuolo beat eighth-place Lazio 2-0 in Rome with a penalty from Domenico Berardi before the break and a second-half goal from Gregoire Defrel.

It was Napoli's third straight match without a win in the league and fifth overall including thir elimination by Villarreal from the Europa League — a streak that began with a loss to Juventus.

"We've been facing big teams like Juventus, Milan and Fiorentina and we know it's never easy to win in Italy," Reina said.

Fiorentina dropped to fourth, level on points with third-place Roma.

Apart from Higuain's goal, the first half belonged to a Fiorentina squad that is admired for its Spanish-style passing game.

Kalinic had only the goalkeeper to beat when he launched a shot off the bar and then Tello danced around a couple of defenders before hitting the corner of the goal frame.

Napoli's two shots in the first half were the fewest the southern club has produced this season.

Midway through the second half, Fiorentina goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu made difficult saves on efforts from Jose Callejon and then a rebound from Higuain.

Tatarusanu also stopped a potential winner from Lorenzo Insigne in added time, diving to push the shot wide.

Fiorentina don't have much time to recuperate before visiting Roma on Friday in a showdown for third place and the final Champions League berth.

Napoli host Chievo Verona on Saturday.