Two goals from Giampaolo Pazzini helped AC Milan sink S.S. Lazio 3-0 at San Siro, a win which enabled Massimiliano Allegri's team to leapfrog their opponents into third in the Serie A standings.

The visitors suffered an early blow when last-man Antonio Candreva was shown a straight red card for bringing down Stephan El Shaarawy. The ten men struggled to cope with the in-form Rossoneri, who remain unbeaten in the league in 2013.

Two goals in five minutes before half-time did the damage, Pazzini and Kevin-Prince Boateng both showing predatory instincts on the follow-up after saves from Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti.

Pazzini doubled his tally for the night on the hour, taking advantage of a misjudged defensive header to fire into the bottom-right corner from outside the box. M'Baye Niang came on and struck the crossbar in the latter stages, but is still in search of his first Serie A goal.

Victory puts Milan a point above Lazio and into the third and final UEFA Champions League qualifying position. Though the Rossoneri are 11 points adrift of leaders Juventus, they are now just five behind second-placed SSC Napoli.