Roma have second place firmly in their sights after closing to within four points of Napoli with a humbling 4-1 derby victory over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
Napoli's loss at Udinese earlier on Sunday effectively ruled them out of the Serie A title race and they now face a battle to keep hold of the runners-up spot after Roma's impressive display in the capital.
Stephan El Shaarawy got the ball rolling with a first-half opener and Edin Dzeko put clear daylight between the two Derby della Capitale foes with a second goal midway through the second half.
Marco Parolo threatened an unlikely Lazio comeback when halving Roma's lead but Alessandro Florenzi notched his first derby goal to settle the tie, with Diego Perotti adding late gloss to the result.
Gonzalo Higuain was sent off as Napoli's title hopes took a severe blow with a 3-1 defeat at relegation-battling Udinese.
Higuain's 30th league goal of the campaign proved inconsequential as Bruno Fernandes' first-half brace was added to by Cyril Thereau before the Argentina striker saw red 25 minutes from time.
Andrea Belotti's penalty completed a surprise comeback as Torino beat nine-man Inter Milan 2-1 at San Siro, with both Miranda and Yuto Nagatomo seeing red in the match.
The Nerazzurri dominated the first half after taking the lead with a Mauro Icardi spot kick, but Cristian Molinaro replied for the visitors after the break.
Their night was certainly going to get worse -- in the 72nd minute Nagatomo brought Belotti down to bring about another penalty and his own dismissal. Belotti made no mistake and Torino were ahead.
Having seen their dominance turned into ill-disciplined chaos, Inter had no answer to Torino's rally as their chances of Champions League football next season took a further hit.
AC Milan risk missing out on European football once again after slumping to a 2-1 defeat to Atalanta.
Sassuolo could soon snatch sixth place from the ailing Rossoneri, who conceded an overhead kick to Mauricio Pinilla and a second-half goal from Alejandro Gomez at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia.
Summer signing Luiz Adriano had given Milan an early lead, but his penalty was not enough.
Sampdoria boss Vincenzo Montella earned a point on his return to Fiorentina as his side hit back to claim a 1-1 draw.
Goals from Josip Ilicic and Ricky Alvarez ensured the spoils were shared in Tuscany, with the dropped points doing more harm to Champions League-chasing Fiorentina.
Suso scored a hat trick as Genoa dealt serious damage to Frosinone's survival bid by plundering a 4-0 victory at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
The former Liverpool midfielder, who is on loan from AC Milan, struck his first goal in the 43rd minute and coolly doubled up just before the hour mark.
Luca Rigoni came to the party with Genoa's third in the 72nd minute and Suso completed the rout with a splendid finish under the crossbar four minutes later.
Palermo remain in the relegation zone after slumping to a 3-1 defeat at Chievo.
The Sicilians have not won a game since January and occupy 18th place with only seven games of the season remaining.