Lazio edged Udinese 3-2 today to end the year joint second in Serie A but captain Stefano Mauri is not getting carried away by his team's high position in the standings.

An own goal from Udinese's Christian Zapata gave Lazio three points and allowed them to reduce the deficit on league leaders AC Milan to three points heading into the Christmas break after Milan lost 1-0 to Roma yesterday.

"This result is a great Christmas present for us," said Mauri after the game. "It hasn't come easy. Udinese made life difficult for us but in the end we got a deserved win. We are in second place and it's a great feeling but we know that in order to do well we have to always give our best.

This result is a great Christmas present for us. We hope to start 2011 in the same way we finished this year.
Stefano Mauri, Lazio captain

"The game against Udinese is nevertheless a reminder that we also have to win games against the teams that are behind us in the standings and that it's tough as was the case today."

The Biancoceleste have lost just three league games this season while clinching 10 victories in 17 games. They are level on 33 points with Napoli, who beat Lecce 1-0 today.

"We hope to start 2011 in the same way we finished this year," said the Italian international. "There is room for improvement and we will look to do that in the new year."