Neither side could be faulted for their endeavour early on, but a lack of quality in the final third led to a largely eventless opening spell.
Atalanta looked the more likely to break the deadlock, with Ademola Lookman’s close-range attempt blocked by Luca Ranieri, but the first half looked to be shaping up as surprisingly drab, given that these sides went into the weekend as the two top scorers in first halves of Serie A matches this season.
That was until just moments before the interval, when Moise Kean pounced to dispossess a hesitant Isak Hien on the halfway line before racing away from the Swede and finishing low across Marco Carnesecchi and into the bottom corner.
Kean’s 23rd goal of the season for club and country spurred his side on to try to increase their advantage following the restart, with both Albert Gudmundsson and Nicolo Fagioli going close for the hosts.
Kean then fired over the top after a powerful run by Dodo, but the pressure on the Fiorentina goal increased when the visitors made changes.
Mario Pasalic’s turn and shot could easily have found the corner if it hadn't been blocked away by Pablo Mari, before Charles De Ketelaere pulled his effort wide of David de Gea’s left post.
Those chances didn’t stop the hosts from venturing up the other end in search of a second, with a fantastic double chance for defender Ranieri thwarted by Carnesecchi on both occasions.
Raffaele Palladino’s side remained remarkably solid in defence during the final stages and didn’t even allow their opponents - the second-top scorers in Serie A - a single shot on target in the whole 90 minutes.
Fiorentina’s fourth win from their last six meetings against Gian Piero Gasperini’s side makes their hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Conference League for a fourth successive season more realistic, while Atalanta will slip to nine points from Inter if the league leaders can beat Udinese later on Sunday.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pablo Mari (Fiorentina)