Fiorentina held off the threat of Champions League rivals Inter Milan for another week in a dramatic 3-2 win at Atalanta that saw second-half goals from Matias Fernandez, Cristian Tello and Nikola Kalinic.
Inter Milan’s 3-1 win at home to Sampdoria on Saturday meant the Viola travelled to Bergamo desperate for a win to tighten their grip on third place.
But it took until after the hour before the visitors broke the deadlock, Fernandez sending a looping header over Marco Sportiello from 10 yards out following Tello’s cross from the right.
Fiorentina looked to be cruising when former Barcelona forward Tello ran down the middle to beat Sportiello at the second attempt to double Fiorentina’s lead nine minutes from the end.
But Andrea Conti pounced on a loose ball a yard from goal following a corner to reduce the arrears three minutes later and although Kalinic directed Borja Valero’s delivery past Sportiello on 87 minutes it was a nervous finish for Paulo Sousa’s men, with Mauricio Pinilla hitting a late consolation for the hosts.
Fiorentina remain third at six points behind leaders Juventus, who, after a scoreless draw at Bologna on Friday, could lose top spot to Napoli if they beat AC Milan today.
Inter sit four points behind Fiorentina but they could lose fourth spot to Roma, who are one point behind, if they account for Palermo later Sunday at the Stadio Olimpico.
With Juve and Napoli expected to finish among the top two, a handful of teams have their eye on the third and last Champions League spot.
Fiorentina are in pole position, and Sousa says he has never hidden his ambition of taking them as high as possible.
“We’ve managed to get where we are at this stage of the season by being competitive,” said the Portuguese coach.
“We want to go for it, we believe in ourselves. It was important for us to win today at what is a difficult venue.”
Elsewhere Genoa had goalkeeper Mattia Perin to thank for stopping Antonio Di Natale’s last-minute penalty as the hosts secured a 2-1 win against Udinese to end a five-game winless run.
Udinese took a 33rd minute lead when defender Kadhim Ali Adnan’s free kick from 40 yards bounced just before it reached Perin to land in the back of the net.
Ali Adnan made history by becoming the first Iraqi to score in Italy’s Serie A, but the goals dried up for Udinese thereafter.