A string of 11 consecutive Serie A wins was nothing more than a distant memory for Atalanta, who had won just one of the following five games, so this clash against Torino had a must-win feel to it.
They made a strong start in a quest to get back on track, taking the lead midway through the first half when Raoul Bellanova slammed home a loose ball at the far post against his former side. He celebrated in muted fashion, but he needn’t have worried, as his joy was cut short by a handball call.
Not deterred by his earlier disappointment, Bellanova was involved again when Atalanta did eventually take the lead, planting a corner perfectly onto the head of Berat Djimsiti, who had worked himself free in the area and powered home a header past a helpless Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Set pieces were proving to be an avenue to success for both sides, and that was how Torino’s leveller came about, with Valentino Lazaro’s pinpoint free-kick falling perfectly for Guillermo Maripan to guide home from six yards.
The hosts felt a little hard done by after the break when they felt Saul Coco handled in the area, but after a VAR check, it was adjudged that his arm was in a natural position.
Atalanta were doing all the running to find a winner in the second half, but they were met by a Torino rearguard that was proving difficult to break down.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side were handed a golden opportunity to finally nose back ahead when Adrien Tameze had a fistful of Mateo Retegui’s shirt in the area. Retegui dusted himself off and stepped forward to take the penalty, but his effort was stopped by Milinkovic-Savic – the third penalty he’s saved this season.
La Dea continued to probe for a winner in the closing stages, but they were running in the repeated issue of Torino’s dogged defence, which they simply couldn’t break down.
It proved too difficult of a task for them, as they failed to find a late winner and were instead forced to settle for a fourth draw from their last six Serie A games. With their rivals playing after them this weekend, Atalanta will probably lose yet more ground in the title race, but it’s a more positive result for mid-table Torino, who are now unbeaten in six league games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Torino)
