MILAN: Atalanta creeped closer to Serie A leaders Napoli on Tuesday after drawing an entertaining match with Juventus 1-1 and moving to within four points of the summit, while AC Milan came from behind to beat Como.
Mateo Retegui salvaged a point for Atalanta with a close-range header 12 minutes from time, not long after returning to action from the bench following four weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
The Italy striker’s finish, which levelled Pierre Kalulu’s 54th-minute opener for Juve, put him out on his own at the top of the Serie A scoring charts on 13 goals and pushed Atalanta to 43 points, ahead of table-topping Napoli’s crucial trip to Bergamo this coming weekend. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, who are bidding for their first league title after winning the Europa League last season, sit level on points with second-placed Inter Milan. “It was a great match tonight, and I’m very happy with the way my boys played,” said Gasperini to Sky.
“It was difficult going behind because we were hoping to go ahead but I think at the end of the day a draw is probably a fair result.”
Juve remain unbeaten but have now drawn 13 of their 20 league fixtures and sit fifth, 13 points behind Napoli.
Earlier, Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao saved Milan from an embarrassing defeat at Como with the goals which gave Sergio Conceicao’s new team a 2-1 win.
Trailing to Assane Diao’s fine low strike on the hour mark, star players Hernandez and Leao turned the match around by the 76th minute, handing Conceicao his first league win as Milan coach.
Tuesday’s victory in one of their two games in hand moved Milan up to seventh on 31 points, five behind fourth-placed Lazio as Conceicao tries to reignite the Italian giants’ bid for Champions League qualification. “They (Como) are a good team with a good coach, it’s not easy to play here,” said Conceicao.
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