Parma took full advantage of their numerical advantage to claim maximum points from their trip to Lecce this afternoon.

Both sides found goalscoring chances hard to come by during the opening 45 minutes at the Stadio Via del Mare.

However, the away side eventually broke the deadlock in the 67th minute when Sebastian Giovinco curled the ball into the net from 25 yards out.

The lead was doubled 11 minutes later courtesy of former Liverpool defender Gabriel Paletta, who scored from six yards out following a goalmouth scramble.

Nenad Tomovic set up a close finish when he brought Lecce back into the match with six minutes remaining by converting a cross from David Di Michele.

Any chance the hosts had of getting back into the game were ended when Andrea Esposito was handed his marching orders for a second bookable offence.