Napoli ended Fiorentina's fine run of form with a 2-1 win at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday, Gonzalo Higuain scoring the winner 15 minutes from time.
Paulo Sousa's men had lost just once in the league prior to the clash - conceding only four goals in that spell - but fell behind to Lorenzo Insigne's opener early on in the second half.
The in-form Belgian cut in from the left and curled past Ciprian Tatarusanu only for Nikola Kalinic to race on to a Josip Ilicic ball and register his fifth league goal of the season.
However, Higuain had the final say two minutes later as he collected Dries Mertens' pass to settle the contest as Maurizio Sarri's men built on the momentum of recent wins against Juventus and Milan.
Elsewhere, Sassuolo moved fifth after a 2-1 victory over fellow high-flyers Lazio - the visitors ending with 10 men at the Stadio Citta del Tricolore following Danilo Cataldi's late dismissal.
Felipe Anderson pulled one back following goals from Domenico Berardi and Simone Missiroli but Lazio failed to find a leveller as Sassuolo moved level with their opponents on 15 points.
Cyril Thereau's 84th-minute equaliser gained Udinese a 1-1 draw at Verona as the home side's wait for a Serie A win goes on while Panagiotis Tachtsidis' late winner settled a five-goal thriller between Genoa and Chievo.
In an action-packed affair at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, goals from Leonardo Pavoletti and Serge Gakpe had cancelled out Alberto Paloschi's opener before Sergio Pellissier's leveller 13 minutes from time.
Despite Blerim Dzemaili's dismissal early in the second half, Tachtsidis fired home from outside the area to ensure Genoa maximum points.
Strugglers Carpi and Frosinone had contrasting results as the former went down 3-0 at Atalanta - Mauricio Pinilla, Alejandro Gomez and Luca Cigarini all on target.
Last season's Serie B runners-up Frosinone picked up a 2-0 win against Sampdoria as Luca Paganini and Federico Dionisi scored in quick succession after the interval.
