Napoli makes title statement with win at Atalanta
Romelu Lukaku left it late to earn Napoli a huge victory in its quest for the Serie A title, with his header helping Antonio Conte's side to a 3-2 victory over Atalanta.
Lukaku headed home with 12 minutes of a pulsating contest remaining, giving Antonio Conte's side some breathing space from Inter Milan while also denting Atalanta's own title charge in the process.
Things had started well for La Dea, though, when Mateo Retegui smashed home after just 16 minutes.
But Matteo Politano levelled matters for Napoli on 27 minutes with a similarly powerful finish before Scott McTominay bagged Napoli's second to put Conte's men ahead at the break.
Ademola Lookman's persistence paid off as he somehow beat five Napoli defenders to the ball on 55 minutes to level the scores again with a brilliant finish.
But the hosts couldn't find a winner and were undone by a headed finish from Lukaku as Napoli made a big statement to all the other teams chasing the Scudetto this season.
Conte's side has 50 points from 21 matches, while second-placed Inter Milan has 44 points, crucially with two games in hand on the leader.
Atalanta, in third, is on 43 points having also played 21 matches.
Napoli has won six games in a row in Serie A for the first time under Conte as manager and for the first time since February 2023, when it won eight under Luciano Spalletti.
Much of the pre-match noise surrounded Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, but Napoli proved it can get results without him, enjoying another memorable fixture on the road in the process.
After overseeing a sixth straight victory, Conte saluted the character of his players.
"I had already said before the match that this team has grown a lot," he said. "Don't forget that, just over two months ago, Atalanta put three goals past us at home.
"I think if we'd had even more time to go through the process, we'd have done even better. The team has, above all, grown in dealing with difficulties. That is what I want to underline.
"We are facing some situations both in terms of injuries and, most recently, the transfer market, situations that would kill a bull, but we are still standing.
"We don't complain, we keep working, and I always say that I have a group of players who are eager to work hard. The improvement of each individual player then allows us to improve collectively, too."
Meanwhile, Atalanta is now without a win in five matches across all competitions.
However, coach Gian Piero Gasperini remained optimistic and says his side's busy schedule will prevent heads from dropping.
"I maintain we emerge stronger from games like this," he said. "We now have the [UEFA] Champions League, then Serie A and the Coppa Italia.
"We are playing every three days, so we do not have time for regrets over a result that didn't go our way.
"It's fine, we have to focus on our journey and, perhaps today, we paid a heavy price. In other games, we were luckier, but overall, I saw a great performance."
