Mario Pasalic has netted his first Italian Serie A hat-trick as Atalanta delivered an attacking masterclass to beat Brescia 6-2 and jump up to second in the standings.
After a derby with an unusually poignant atmosphere, the Bergamaschi have now scored a whopping 93 goals in 33 league games this season - 25 more than any other team.
Atalanta trail leaders Juventus by six points and are two points above third-placed Inter Milan and fourth-placed Lazio - who all have a game in hand.
They have all but secured another top-four finish and a second season in the Champions League as they have a 16-point advantage over fifth-place Roma.
However, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said there is still more to play for.
"We still have so many aims," Gasperini said.
"We want to get the best position in the table possible, we want to prepare for the Champions League in the best way possible ... and then we have some records we can try to set, such as the most number of points for this club, number of goals, number of wins.
"There is really so much motivation."
Brescia remained second from bottom in the standings, nine points from safety.
Atalanta and Brescia have historically been fierce rivals but the two teams had been united by the coronavirus pandemic.
It was in the northern Lombardy provinces of Bergamo - where Atalanta are based - and Brescia where the coronavirus outbreak erupted in late February.
Atalanta took the lead on Tuesday within two minutes when Pasalic fired in a through ball from Ruslan Malinovskyi, but Ernesto Torregrossa levelled moments later.
However, Marten De Roon restored Atalanta's lead in the 25th, Malinovskiy then added a powerful long-range effort and Duvan Zapata scored with a header to give the hosts a commanding lead after half an hour.
Atalanta increased their lead when Malinovskyi teed up Pasalic on 55 minutes before the Croatia midfielder scored again three minutes later to complete his hat-trick.
"It's the first time, it's not bad to do it in a derby," Pasalic said of his treble of goals.
Brescia's Nikolas Spalek got the final goal of the game seven minutes from time.
Australian Associated Press
