Ivan Perisic's stoppage-time equaliser denied AC Milan at the death in the Derby della Madonnina as Inter Milan salvaged a 2-2 draw.
Two maiden San Siro goals from Spanish forward Suso had put Milan on course to reach second place in the Serie A table but, with Antonio Candreva having pulled a goal back at the start of the second half, Perisic put the brakes on the Rossoneri.
The point will mean a lot to new Inter head coach Stefano Pioli, hired to fix the mess left behind by Frank de Boer, who departed with the Nerazzurri languishing in the bottom half of the table.
Franck Kessie's late penalty fired unstoppable Atalanta into the race for Champions League football as Serie A title hopefuls Roma suffered a 2-1 defeat
Heading into Sunday's showdown the Bergamo club had stormed into contention for a European place on the back of six wins from seven while Roma were looking to reduce a seven-point gap on leaders Juventus.
Diego Perotti's penalty put the Giallorossi on the right track at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, only for Mattia Caldara to snatch a second-half leveller. Just when Roma looked ready to settle for a draw, Ivorian midfielder Kessie secured a fifth straight Atalanta win and a share of third place.
Lazio also took a share of third place by beating 10-man Genoa 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico.
Felipe Anderson's first-time shot beat visiting goalkeeper Mattia Perin in the 11th minute, but the Biancocelesti could not increase their advantage before half-time.
Genoa equalised in the 52nd minute as Lucas Ocampos cut inside from the left to finish well, only for Lucas Biglia to restore the hosts' lead from the penalty spot after Felipe Anderson drew a foul from Lucas Orban, who was later dismissed. In the 66th minute Brazilian defender Wallace rubber-stamped the outcome with a close-range strike.
Sampdoria produced a brilliant late comeback to seal a remarkable 3-2 win over Sassuolo at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Sassuolo led 2-0 with six minutes left but Fabio Quagliarella pulled one back before Luis Muriel's brace secured a stunning turnaround. After a goalless first half, Federico Ricci sparked the goal-fest after finishing Antonino Ragusa's left-wing cross to give the visitors the lead.
Rugusa got himself on the scoresheet to double Sassuolo's advantage with a composed finish after breaking the Blucerchiati's offside trap.
Quagliarella started the Sampdoria recovery six minutes from time after needing two attempts to put the ball in the net. He turned provider a minute later when unselfishly squaring the ball to Muriel to tap into an empty net and the Colombian then converted a stoppage-time penalty after Luca Antei brought down Lucas Torreira to steal all three points.
Federico Bernardeschi made it five goals in five games as Fiorentina thumped Empoli 4-0.
The Italy winger, a reported January transfer target for Chelsea, opened the scoring in the 26th minute after Nikola Kalinic was denied by home goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski. Josip Ilicic doubled the lead from the penalty spot two minutes after half-time following Assane Diousse's foul on Milan Badelj.
Bernardeschi added the third on the hour when he raced past two challenges and lashed an angled drive inside the near post. And Ilicic rifled in the fourth from outside the box six minutes later to wrap up a comprehensive win.
Andrea Belotti scored a late double as Torino claimed a 2-0 Serie A victory over rock-bottom Crotone for their second consecutive win.
Torino pressed after the break and -- with 10 minutes remaining -- they finally broke the deadlock as Adem Ljajic set up Belotti, who picked out the bottom corner. The Italy striker then netted his 10th goal of the season, tapping home Lucas Boye's cross at the death.
Bologna broke their barren run of seven Serie A games without a win thanks to a comfortable 3-1 triumph over Palermo at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
Palermo, who have now lost six successive league matches, took the lead on nine minutes after Bruno Henrique pounced on a defensive mistake before squaring to Ilija Nestorovski to tap in.
Mattia Destro equalised for the hosts with his fourth goal of the season after heading in Federico Viviani's cross to leave the two sides level at the break.
Switzerland international Blerim Dzemaili put Rossoblu in front on 67 minutes with a strike from the edge of the box before Viviani found the bottom corner with a 25-yard free-kick to seal all three points.