Atalanta moved level with Serie A leaders Napoli on Sunday after coming back from a goal down to beat spirited Udinese 2-1 and continue an unlikely title bid.

Mario Pasalic’s first-time strike 11 minutes after the break and an unfortunate own goal from Isaak Toure moments later gave Atalanta their sixth straight league win.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are second, joined on 25 points with Napoli.

Atalanta trail Napoli despite having a significantly better goal difference as they have played a game more and in any case cannot finish the day in top spot.

Regardless Atalanta have won eight in their all-competitions unbeaten run of 10 matches and have deserved to be considered contenders for what would be their first ever Serie A title.

Under Gasperini and the guidance of the Percassi family, who are from Bergamo, Atalanta have slowly worked their way up from provincal also-rans to become one of Italy’s top teams and last season’s Europa League winners.

Gasperini has admitted in recent weeks that his team can be considered Scudetto hopefuls and they showed resilience to battle back from going behind on the stroke of half-time to a thunderous strike from Hassane Kamara.

Udinese, who fully deserved to lead at the break following a brilliant first-half display, sit eighth on 16 points after their third straight defeat.

Earlier, Juventus edged a tense derby against city rivals Torino 2-0 on to move within one point of the summit of Serie A, while AC Milan dropped points in an entertaining draw at Cagliari.

Strikes in both halves from Timothy Weah and Kenan Yildiz were enough to give Juventus victory over their fellow side from Turin and send the Old Lady up to third in the table with 24 points.

The victory, provisionally, leaves Juventus level on points with champions Inter Milan in second and one behind league leaders Napoli.

“It was another good performance where we brought the three points home,” Juventus coach Thiago Motta told Sky Sport Italia.

“I am happy both with the result and the performance, in a derby on home turf, and thank our fans for their support.”

Torino’s form has fallen off drastically in recent weeks after they had sat top of the table in September.

With one win in their last seven league outings, Torino now sit 11th in the league and 10 points adrift of their city rivals.

The deadlock was broken on 18 minutes when Weah tapped into an open net after Vanja Milinkovic-Savic had failed to hold onto Andrea Cambiaso’s driven effort from wide on the left.

Both sides struggled to create chances in a match that will likely not live long in the memory of either set of fans.

Yildiz then ended Torino hopes of a draw six minutes from time with a stooping back-post header.

AC Milan fell further behind the title race after twice throwing away the lead in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Cagliari.

The Rossoneri remain seventh but are now four points off the Champions League places and seven behind pacesetters Napoli.

Rafael Leao scored twice in the first half to give Milan the lead after Nadir Zortea’s early opener.

Cagliari struck back soon after the break through Gabriele Zappa before Tammy Abraham restored the visitors’ lead, only for Zappa to score a sensational equaliser in the final stages.

“This draw is clearly a step backwards,” AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca said to DAZN, referencing his side’s midweek 3-1 victory in the Champions League against Real Madrid.

“Our problem today was our defence, we lacked aggression, we let them cross too much, we lost too many aerial duels, it’s not possible to win a match in those conditions.”

For the home side, the draw takes them to 16th place on 10 points, one clear of the drop zone.

Zortea gave Cagliari the perfect start on two minutes as he smashed home from the back post after a corner.

Leao brought Milan level 13 minutes later with a lobbed finish after being sent in behind the defence by Tijjani Reijnders’ excellent lofted pass.

The Portuguese winger then doubled up five minutes before the break as Youssouf Fofana released him with an accurate long ball to his feet and he rounded the goalkeeper to give Milan the advantage.

Nine minutes after the break Fofana was at fault as he inadvertently played Zappa in behind his own defence and the Cagliari player finished past the advancing Mike Maignan.

Abraham looked to have completed the comeback for Fonseca’s side with his second goal of the season when he tapped home on 69 minutes.

But Zappa equalised again for Cagliari with one minute left via a thumping volley from a looping cross.

Parma came from behind to beat bottom-of-the-table Venezia 2-1 away from home.

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia opened the scoring for the hosts but goals either side of the break from Emanuele Valeri and Ange-Yoan Bonny moved Parma up to 14th, three points clear of the relegation zone.

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Paul Pogba went on a media tour to plead his case to stay and contribute at Juventus amid the rumors of an impending partying of the ways ahead of the end of his suspension in March. He spoke with Sky Sports, ESPN, and La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“It’ll be a new Pogba: hungrier, wiser, and stronger. I’ve trained on my own for a year, and I’m ready to return to go back to normalcy in 2025. My only wish is to play. The love from the fans has always been there. I couldn’t have contacts with the team for legal reasons, but many past and present teammates showed their support. Juan Cuadrado called me every two days to make me laugh. Paulo Dybala texted me a lot. And then Dusan Vlahovic, Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Moise Kean… I didn’t expect it.”

Pogba isn’t in a rush to find another team.

“I haven’t had the chance to speak with Thiago Motta yet, but that moment will come soon. I think I’m ready to train and star for them. That’s the only thing on my mind today. The pitch will do the talking, and the coach will judge me based on what he’ll see. I aim to play at Juventus and France and be the best. I’m willing to give up some money to do that. I want to come back.”

Ahead of this weekend’s top clash at the Stadio Olimpico, Roma and Inter could each regain a pivotal player, as Paulo Dybala and Nicolò Barella are both nearing their return to action.

Both sides had a bumpy start to the season, so it will be interesting to see who will prevail on Sunday.

As is often the case, Dybala has been dealing with a muscular problem that saw him remain on the bench during the 2-1 victory over Venezia before skipping the trip to Monza just before the international break.

But according to Sky Sport Italia via La Voce Giallorossa, the 30-year-old will rejoin his teammates in group training starting Tuesday morning. Therefore, the Argentine should be available for selection by Sunday, which will be a major boost for the already-under-fire Ivan Juric.

Coincidentally, Sky Sport (via FcInterNews) also reports Barella’s return to full training on Tuesday. The Italian skipped Inter’s last two Serie A victories over Udinese and Torino, but he should be ready and raring to go for Sunday’s showdown in Rome.

The source believes the 27-year-old will be pushing for a starting spot, even if Simone Inzaghi is spoiled for choices in the middle of the park.

While the impact of the two stars’ expected returns could cancel one another since each side will recover the services of a main protagonist, the true winner in the whole equation would be the neutral fan, as we’re talking about two of the most technically gifted players in Serie A. Their presence would certainly add a different flavor to what should be a captivating encounter in the Eternal City.