Napoli's 18-game unbeaten streak in all competitions came to an end after losing 3-2 at Bologna in a nail-biting contest at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
Mattia Destro's brace either side of Luca Rossettini's first-half goal looked to have put the game to bed but Gonzalo Higuain scored two goals in the final three minutes of normal time to set up a tense finish.
However, the hosts held on to move up to 15th while Napoli missed the opportunity to leapfrog Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A table.
That result also allowed Fiorentina to climb above Napoli and take second place in the table with a 3-0 win at home to Udinese, thanks to goals from Milan Badelj, Josip Ilicic and Gonzalo Rodriguez.
Paulo Sousa's men are now one point behind Inter. Their next league engagement sees them visit bitter rivals Juventus and victory there, coupled with a poor result for Inter at Udinese, would take the Tuscans top.
Badelj's opener arrived in the 26th minute, the Croatian midfielder blasting Edenilson's poor clearance against the legs of team-mate Nikola Kalinic to wrong-foot Udinese goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis.
The second came when Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu brought Kalinic down in the box and Ilicic gladly obliged from the penalty spot. Fiorentina then piled bodies forward at an 86th-minute corner and it was Argentinian defender Rodriguez who rose highest to nod the ball beyond Karnezis.
AC Milan's bid to muscle into the title race hit a snag as they were held to a goalless draw at Carpi.
The Rossoneri had won four of their last six matches to climb back into contention for European football but Sunday night's stalemate at the Stadio Alberto Braglia proves they have a long way to go before restoring former glories.
Indeed promoted Carpi -- now in double figures for the season -- enjoyed the better chances of a balanced encounter, with former Milan striker Marco Borriello going closest to beating Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Ten-man Atalanta reached sixth place following a 3-0 home humbling of Palermo.
In-form striker German Denis grabbed the opener in the 18th minute when smashing home Marten de Roon's rebound.
The second goal came from Nicolo Cherubin, the defender heading the ball beyond Stefano Sorrentino from a corner in the 25th minute.
Atalanta did lose Guido Migliaccio to a red card midway through the second half but quickly made amends as De Roon found Sorrentino's bottom corner with a left-footed screamer.
Frosinone wasted an opportunity to climb out of the relegation zone when going down 2-0 to Chievo.
Palermo's thrashing at Atalanta meant promoted Frosinone would have left the bottom three with victory at the Stadio Matusa, but they failed to make their dominance in the final third count.
Chievo waited until their hosts were tired from peppering their goal to strike twice at the end, Alberto Paloschi converting a penalty in the 89th minute and Riccardo Meggiorini converting his teammate's pass four minutes later.
The Flying Donkeys did lose Simone Pepe to a red card on the stroke of full-time, but fatigued Frosinone could not exploit their one-man advantage.
Sassuolo stunned Sampdoria 3-1 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris to move back into the race for a Europa League place.
The Neroverde dominated throughout and Francesco Acerbi opened the scoring with a deflected goal inside eight minutes.
Sergio Floccari soon tucked away Sime Vrsaljko's cross while goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano was on the ground.
Teenager Lorenzo Pellegrini, 19, made it 3-0 with his first Serie A goal six minutes before half-time, the young Sassuolo midfielder beating Viviano by converting his own blocked shot.
Samp scored a consolation through Ervin Zukanovic on the stroke of full-time.
Luigi Delneri's reign as Hellas Verona boss began as his predecessor Andrea Mandorlini's ended -- with a defeat.
Andrea Costa's 61st-minute strike proved enough to earn Empoli a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, condemning basement boys Hellas to their ninth loss of the season.
The former Parma defender was quick to react when Verona goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini pushed his first headed attempt back into play.