Inter Milan were the only major Italian soccer club team to benefit from the stumbling of their arch-rivals, leaders Milan, who tied for two consecutive games in the competition, to keep Inter one point away from the lead.
Milan drew 2-2 with struggling Genoa on Wednesday, and achieved the same result against Parma last week, and it seems that it is on the date of a strong confrontation with Sassuolo, fifth-placed, on Sunday.
Inter faces a relatively easier task when they host the new promoted Spezia side of the league at home, after they ended the difficult match against Napoli with a 1-0 victory.
Inter coach Antonio Conte said, "It was not easy, Napoli is a great team and it was a challenging match on a tactical level. We have great respect for this team, but it was not a nice match."
"Nevertheless, the match represented a decisive turn for us, because Napoli is a direct competitor to us, and for years the team has always been a candidate to compete for the league title, and those matches you can win or lose in one moment," he added.
Milan coach Stefan Pioli did not complain about the performance of his players, and also expressed his hopes for the return of the veteran Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic from the injury.
"Milan never gives up, but we cannot always go at the same fast pace, our performance has been excellent," he said.
"If you look at the performance indicator and the results, you will see that we have a very great quality of what we do on the field," Bioli added. "We have continued to score goals at a rate of two goals per match, which means that we are presenting football at a high level."
The bitterness of the Napoli team is overwhelming after the loss to Inter Milan, although it performed well throughout the events of that match, but moved 5 points behind Milan, and it will have to face another strong test against Lazio.
Defending champions Juventus are third, one point behind Napoli, and the "old lady" will face Parma on Saturday.
The 1-1 draw against stubborn Atalanta on Wednesday was the sixth for the team from 12 games it fought without defeat, and the match saw Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo waste a penalty kick, at a time when Alvaro Morata missed an easy opportunity in front of the visitors' goal.
"We are drawing a lot, but we always play to win," said Polish goalkeeper Voitk Cesny, who helped the team win the league title in the last 3 seasons out of the 9 successive crowns.
"This year, there are many teams fighting for the league title, and it is natural for the ranking table to be compact, and we will fight to the end," he added.