Atalanta’s bid for a first Serie A title continued on Saturday with a club-record 10th straight league win, 1-0 at Cagliari, as Dusan Vlahovic saved Juventus with a last-gasp penalty in a 2-2 draw with bottom club Venezia.
Nicolo Zaniolo ensured Atalanta stayed top of Serie A this weekend with the goal which decided a hard-fought encounter in Sardinia, the Italy international forward stroking home the winner from Raoul Bellanova’s cut-back in the 66th minute.
Atalanta, guided by veteran coach Gian Piero Gasperini, has emerged as genuine Scudetto challengers for the first time in its history and stays two points clear at the top of the league with closest challenger Napoli on its heels following a 3-1 win at Udinese.
However, Gasperini was not happy with his players’ performances as, after impressing in Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid, it struggled against Cagliari, which is 15th and only two points above the relegation zone.
Atalanta, which also struck the post through Ademola Lookman almost straight after Zaniolo’s winner, only came away with all three points thanks to a brilliant performance between the sticks from Marco Carnesecchi who made at least six great saves including one from Leonardo Pavoletti in stoppage time.
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“A good chunk of this team, not everyone, needs to grow up a bit and get the same mentality as the core group of the squad,” said Gasperini, whose decision to make three substitutions at half-time was a sign of his dissatisfaction.
Zaniolo’s strike was his third of the season and a further sign of new life after a difficult last few years. Gasperini later criticised him for being booked while celebrating his goal, calling “intolerable” him whipping his shirt as it fired up the home crowd.
“We cannot afford that every time he scores a goal, he fires up the crowd and turns our advantage into a disadvantage... it’s already the second time that he’s done it,” Gasperini told reporters.
Napoli, missing injured star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, came back from a goal down to secure the three points at the Bluenergy Stadium, where it sealed a historic third league crown last year.
Napoli ‘on right track‘
Trailing at the break after Florian Thauvin netted on the rebound from his own saved 22nd-minute penalty, Napoli roared back in the second half to delight its large and loud travelling support with strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Lautaro Giannetti’s own goal.
Napoli is four points ahead of Lazio and third-placed Inter, who face off in Rome on Monday night, and Fiorentina with the Viola at Bologna on Saturday.
“I said after we lost to Lazio (last weekend) that we’re on the right track,” said Conte to DAZN.
“The team needs to keep playing this kind of football, dictate the game, keep the ball and press when we don’t have it.”
Juventus is nine points behind Atalanta in sixth after following up on its Champions League win over Manchester City with an awful performance against Venezia, which was met with loud disapproval from supporters despite Vlahovic’s late leveller.
Juve avoided a first league defeat of the season, but a draw does nothing for Thiago Motta’s team, which looks miles behind Atalanta not just in points but also in play.
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“When we play teams that leave us space, we can attack well, but when we play against teams that leave little space, we have problems like you saw tonight,” said Motta.
“We can’t stay where we are because we have the quality to be higher at the table.”
Vlahovic struck his 11th goal of the season from the spot in the fifth minute of stoppage time after Antonio Candela was penalised for handball, but the goal was met with a combination of cheers and jeers from frustrated fans who watched their team’s 12th draw of the season.
Mikael Ellertsson and Jay Idzes cancelled out Federico Gatti’s 19th-minute opener with two fine headers, which put Venezia ahead seven with minutes remaining, but a draw leaves it two points from Como, which sits just outside the relegation zone.
