Romelu Lukaku fired Napoli six points clear at the top of Serie A with the decisive goal in Saturday's thrilling 3-2 win at title rivals Atalanta, as Juventus beat AC Milan 2-0 to move into the Champions League spots.
Belgium striker Lukaku nodded home his eighth Napoli goal from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa's perfect cross in the 78th minute to give Antonio Conte's team a statement win in Bergamo.
Matteo Politano and Scott McTominay also scored for Napoli who have 50 points from 21 matches and have made it clear that they are now the team to beat in this year's title race after scoring three times from their only shots on target.
"I can't say whether it's my most important goal (for Napoli) but the win is important. We showed tonight that we're a top team," said Lukaku to Sky.
Napoli are gunning for a second Scudetto in three seasons and await the response from champions and closest challengers Inter Milan, who also have a game in hand, against struggling Empoli on Sunday.
A sixth straight win is the perfect boost Napoli need for another massive clash with Conte's old team Juventus, in Naples, this time next week.
"It's another test for us, to see where we are," added Lukaku.
Elsewhere, goals in five second-half minutes from Samuel Mbangula and Timothy Weah gave Juventus a deserved win in Turin which pushed Thiago Motta's side up to fourth, a point ahead of Lazio who are at Verona on Sunday.
Unbeaten Juve snapped a run of three straight draws which had taken their tally of league stalemates to 13, with Saturday's win just their eighth in 21 fixtures in Italy's top flight.
Substitute Weah emulated his father in the 64th minute by netting in a Juventus match with Milan 25 years after Ballon d'Or-winner George Weah did the same - for Milan against Juve.
"The boys are growing, match after match, and getting to the point that they can put in a performance like the one they did tonight," said Motta.
"That's because they all work really hard every day... today's win is the reward." (AFP)