Not over yet — Inter drop points once again, Atalanta do Milan a favor

If you thought about ten days ago that Inter Milan would comfortably win the Serie A title, you might have changed your mind today. After losing to their direct rival and city opponent AC Milan, Inter were held to a draw at home by Atalanta BC.

Even though it seemed everything was heading toward a victory, one defensive mistake was enough for Atalanta to score and take two points away from Inter. The entire situation surrounding the visitors’ goal was controversial, and it will certainly be talked about in the coming days.

The first attempt of the match came in the 5th minute after a mistake in Inter’s defense allowed Gianluca Scamacca to get on the ball. The Atalanta striker tried his luck from nearly 30 meters out, but his shot sailed well over the crossbar.

Just a minute later, the hosts responded. Federico Dimarco received the ball on the left flank with plenty of space and attempted a drop-kick effort, but he failed to connect properly and the ball went wide of the goal.

Scamacca threatened again in the 12th minute with another long-range attempt from a similar distance. This time, however, Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer reacted well and made the save. The Swiss shot-stopper spilled the ball, which could have easily fallen to an Atalanta player, but the Inter defense reacted quickly and cleared the danger.

Inter eventually took the lead in the 26th minute. Francesco Pio Esposito scored his eighth goal in all competitions this season after a well-worked move by the home side. Denzel Dumfries won the ball back and played it forward to Thuram, who combined nicely with Nicolo Barella. Barella then found Esposito, whose powerful shot beat the Atalanta goalkeeper despite getting a slight touch on the ball.

Only two minutes later, Dimarco had another opportunity when he found himself in space on the left side and aimed for the far corner, but his shot went just wide of the post.

From the moment of the goal until the end of the first half, both teams had a few more attempts, but none of them proved particularly dangerous for either goalkeeper.

In the 49th minute, Marcus Thuram came very close with a spectacular long-range effort. The French striker unleashed a powerful shot from distance that swerved toward the near top corner, but the ball flew just wide of the post.

Inter threatened again in the 61st minute with a dangerous counterattack. Mkhitaryan drove forward through the center before releasing a pass to Thuram on the right side. However, Marco Carnesecchi reacted quickly, rushing off his line to parry the shot and deny Inter a second goal.

Atalanta had a big opportunity in the 70th minute. Nikola Krstovic turned well and laid the ball off to Lorenzo Bernasconi on the left, but Bernasconi badly mishit his finish, allowing Carlos Augusto to clear the danger.

The match took a dramatic turn in the 82nd minute with a highly controversial moment. Sulemana stole the ball from Denzel Dumfries, who stumbled just outside the penalty area. Sulemana then squared the ball for Krstovic, who finished past Yann Sommer. Referee Gianluca Manganiello appeared to consider stopping play and even had the whistle in his mouth, but never actually blew it.

The situation was reviewed by VAR due to a possible push by Sulemana on Dumfries, but the contact was deemed too soft to be considered a foul and the goal was allowed to stand. During the protests, Inter coach Cristian Chivu was shown a second yellow card and sent off.

More controversy followed in the 87th minute when Davide Frattesi went down in the penalty area after contact with Scalvini. The referee waved play on, judging the contact to be minimal, and VAR also confirmed the decision, a call that only added to Inter’s frustration in a tense finish to the match.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 29

Friday

Torino - Parma 4-1 (1-1)

/Simeone 3, Delprato 55 og, Keita 57 og, Zapata 90+1 - Pellegrino 20/

Saturday

Inter - Atalanta 1-1 (1-0)

/Esposito 26 - Krstovic 82/

20.00: (1.37) Napoli (4.50) Lecce (10.0)

22.45: (7.00) Udinese (4.00) Juventus (1.58)

Sunday

14.30: (3.05) Verona (3.10) Genoa (2.50)

17.00: (2.60) Pisa (3.05) Cagliari (2.95)

17.00: (2.60) Sassuolo (3.25) Bologna (2.80)

20.00: (2.15) Como (3.45) Roma (3.70)

22.45: (3.90) Lazio (3.45) Milan (2.10)

Monday

22.45: (3.80) Cremonese (3.45) Fiorentina (2.00)

***odds are subject to change***