Chievo frustrated Lazio to pick up an important point in their battle against the drop with a goalless draw at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi on Saturday night.
The Gialloblu had goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri to thank for some important saves in the second half as Lazio failed to find the win which would have taken them level with third-placed Lazio.
Instead, the draw did at least end a two-game losing streak, but the result will nonetheless leave the Biancoceleste with plenty of regrets.
It did not look like Lazio were going to have too many problems getting back to winning ways after losing their last two when they came out of the blocks well.
Two Chievo defenders had to scramble the ball behind under pressure from Filip Djordjevic as he loomed to meet Antonio Candreva's cross.
Candreva was involved in Lazio's next big chance with Stefano Mauri pulling the ball back for Marco Parolo, whose powerful shot just missed the target.
Lazio were having a lot of joy down the wing with Candreva, who set up Parolo to flash a shot across the face of goal and just wide of the far post.
Yet the ball did not want to go in.
Mariano Izco had Chievo's first chance of the game on the hour mark, finding only the side-netting but doing enough to give Federico Marchetti a slight scare.
At the other end, Bizzarri did not have much to do with most of Lazio's efforts missing the target - but he was called into action to parry Mauri's goalbound effort.
Miroslav Klose was sent on by Stefano Pioli as he searched for a way to make the breakthrough - but it was Stefan de Vrij who went the closest with a bullet-header which Bizzarri turned round the post at full stretch in the last minute.
ends