Atalanta held by Torino as Serie A title bid slips away

Atalanta held by Torino as Serie A title bid slips away

Mateo Retegui’s weak penalty results in a 1-1 draw, leaving them six points behind league leaders Napoli.

Atalanta
Torino’s goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saves a penalty from Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui during the match at the Gewiss stadium. (AP pic)
MILAN:
Atalanta’s faltering Serie A title bid took another hit on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Torino after their star striker fluffed his chance from the penalty spot.

Italy striker Retegui’s weak effort from the spot in the 74th minute was pushed aside by Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who has saved all three of the penalties he has faced this season.

Saturday’s draw left third-placed Atalanta six points behind league leaders Napoli who are at Roma on Sunday night just after Inter Milan face local rivals AC Milan.

Reigning champions Inter are three points behind Napoli with a game in hand at Fiorentina which was stopped in December following Viola midfielder Edoardo Bove’s on-pitch collapse.

Inter will complete that fixture on Thursday night.

Seven points from their last six league fixtures have left Atalanta off the pace in the Scudetto race just as Napoli and Inter have hit top form.

The hosts looked on their way to victory when Berat Djimsiti forced home Raoul Bellanova’s corner 10 minutes before half-time, but Guillermo Maripan levelled five minutes later.

Atalanta struggled to break down dogged Torino and when they did the giant Milinkovic-Savic kept the opposition at bay, and even goaded livid home fans after keeping out Retegui’s penalty.

Torino are comfortably placed in 11th after their fifth draw in an unbeaten run of six matches.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.