Gonzalo Higuain reached 32 goals for the season as Napoli held onto second place in the Serie A table by beating Atalanta 2-1 at the Stadio San Paolo last night.
The league’s leading scorer notched either side of the break to prevent Roma from moving into the runners-up spot, with Raul Albiol putting through his own net to give the southerners the jitters at the death.
Roma’s 3-2 victory at Genoa earlier in the day had lifted the capital club above Napoli and into second so Maurizio Sarri’s men had to respond quickly and effectively.
After some probing by both sides the ball fell nicely for Marek Hamsik, who cut inside from the left to supply Higuain for his 31st goal in 32 matches.
Higuain further extended his tally by turning Jose Callejon’s cross beyond Sportiello to rubber-stamp the three points.
Earlier, Roma forward Francesco Totti rolled back the years with a spectacular goal in a roller-coaster win at mid-table Genoa to maintain their bid for an automatic Champions League spot.
The talismanic 39-year old, who came on after the break, unleashed a fierce free kick to level the scores at 2-2 before Stephan El Shaarawy swept in a late winner from close range.