22 January 2023
Juventus and Atalanta grabbed three goals each in a pulsating draw at the Allianz Stadium as the championship reached the mid-way point.
The 3-3 draw, which saw Juve come back from behind twice, kept the Bianconeri 12 points behind their opponents after the 15-point deduction handed out by the sporting authorities on two days ago.
THE MATCH
The game could not have got off to a worse start. With their first attack Atalanta found the opening goal.
On five minutes, Ademola Lookman received the ball inside the penalty area. The striker found half a yard before driving his shot in at the near post. Caught by surprise, Wojciech Szczęsny could only parry the effort into the net.
Juve’s response was immediate and effective.
Signalling the Bianconeri’s intent were shots from the edge of the area from Manuel Locatelli and Ángel Di María, who would be at the heart of everything Juve did in attack in the opening half.
A corner from El Fideo saw his international teammate Juan Musso scramble to punch the ball away just as Weston McKennie was about to make contact.
Juve kept up their high pressing game and the intensity paid off. Locatelli won back possession inside the visitors’ half and forced his way into the Atalanta area. The ball broke to Nicolò Fagioli, who was taken down by Ederson. VAR called the referee’s attention and after studying the pitchside monitor, the official pointed to the spot.
From 12 yards Di María sent Musso the wrong way. 20 minutes after going a goal down, Juve were level.
And 10 minutes later the hosts would be ahead.
A flowing move down the right completed the first half comeback. A Di María backheel freed Fagioli down the right flank. The midfielder’s cross was met on the half volley by Arkadiusz Milik, who dispatched the ball into the net.
Juve were caught cold at the restart. Not even a minute had elapsed and Atalanta were level. Joakim Maehle ghosted in behind the home defence to side foot his shot beyond Szczęsny.
And not satisfied, the Dea pushed on again. On 53’ Atalanta again made progress down the left, Jeremy Boga crossed from the byeline and Lookman, who had peeled off the shoulder of Alex Sandro, glanced his header into the net.
Juventus were called on to respond again and again they did.
Manuel Locatelli was fouled at the edge of the penalty area. From the free-kick, a training ground move was worked to perfection. Di María rolled the ball into the path of Danilo, who drilled his shot into the net.
With 25 minutes to play, it was all square. All three points were still there for the winning. However, the defences finally came out on top.
A Tolói run and shot forced Szczęsny into a smart save, while at the other end, two Bianconeri substitutes almost provided the game’s seventh goal.
Moise Kean put pressure on Merih Demiral, whose attempted backheel clearance fell again to Kean. The striker played the ball into the middle of the area, where Fabio Miretti was arriving. The teenager didn’t make clean contact on his shot. A chance spurned.
That was to be the last opportunity of the match. Six goals, a share of the points, but however spectacular the match, Juve's climb back up the table was put on hold.
