Ten-man Atalanta held firm to ensure Marco Borriello's goal earned all three points against Chievo in Bergamo.
After Valter Birsa and Lucas Castro went close for the Flying Donkeys in the first half, former West Ham striker Borriello scored the only goal of a 1-0 home victory by converting Alessandro Diamanti's shot against the bar in the 55th minute.
Atalanta lost Alejandro Gomez to a red card 20 minutes later but try as they might Chievo could not force home an equaliser.
The Nerazzurri are now nine points clear of the Serie A relegation zone with only three games remaining.