When the final whistle blew at the Stadio Olimpico, Gennaro Gattuso slumped to the ground and kissed the turf of his once sworn enemies. His Lazio, a side he despised in his playing days as AC Milan’s snarling enforcer, clung on to an 83rd-minute goal against a persevering Cagliari and continued their redemption song. After his doomed stint with the national side that bottled World Cup qualification for the third time, Gattuso says he sees every victory as a “salvation.”

Lazio’s renaissance came out of nowhere, but was in tune with the frenetic nature of the league, stuffed with drama, goals and free-flowing football, a label that is becoming anachronistic in a contemporary game strangled by structural fixations. Elsewhere in a blockbuster week, AC Milan stunned holders and derby rivals Inter and Juventus defeated Napoli. The title race is already heating up. Just five points separate the top four teams.