Atalanta beat Bologna to relaunch Champions League bid
Gian Piero Gasperini's side are four points above Bologna, who are fifth, thanks to a third-minute tap-in from Mateo Retegui and Mario Pasalic's first league goal since November not long afterwards.
Retegui's early strike was his 26th of the season in all competitions for Atalanta, and the Italy forward also set up Pasalic to guide home a delicate volley with his brilliant cross in the 21st minute.
Those goals ended a three-match losing run without scoring for Atalanta and were their first in a home league fixture since the start of February.
"I'm happy because it had been a few months that we'd not won here, we need to make our home matches count in the final weeks of the season," said Pasalic.
"Scoring straight away really helped us because it gives you more freedom to play."
Atalanta came into Sunday's key clash with a top-four rival without a Serie A win in Bergamo since before Christmas but they stopped the home rot with a mature performance at the Gewiss Stadium.
Bologna looked to have the initiative in a tight fight for two Champions League spots, with Inter and Napoli contesting the league title and almost guarantee of qualification.
Vincenzo Italiano's team had won five of their previous six matches and were unlucky to only draw with second-placed Napoli last weekend.
The only negative note for Gasperini was seeing defender Sead Kolasinac being stretchered off with a knee injury just before half-time, the latest in a long line of physical problems for both the Bosnian and Atalanta this term.
Later, Claudio Ranieri will manage his last Rome derby when Roma take on Lazio with both capital clubs also gunning for the Champions League.
Roma are seventh and six points behind fourth-placed Juventus, with Lazio two points and one place ahead of their local rivals.