Atalanta 1-1 Inter: Ten-Man Visitors Held By Orobici

A ten-man Inter gave up the lead against Atalanta, but still extended their advantage at the top of Serie A.

The league-leaders began the day knowing they could increase the gap over one of their closest rivals Juventus, who lost to Bari yesterday. Meanwhile, Atalanta were desperate for points after a series of poor results have left them on the cusp of the relegation zone.

Both coaches Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were in the stands after being sent off in recent Serie A matches. Starlet Mario Balotelli was given another start after his midweek heroics in the Champions League against Rubin Kazan.

The first real chance came for the hosts on ten minutes, as Giampaolo Bellini played the ball back into the mix after a corner was half-cleared by Inter. His volley was deflected and Julio Cesar was forced into a fantastic reaction save.

Despite the early initiative from Atalanta, it was the visitor's who took the lead. After a patient passage of play, Wesley Sneijder's through ball picked out Diego Milito and the Argentine used his strength to hold off his marker and slot past Ferdinando Coppola.

Atalanta tried to hit back quickly and were pressing high up the field. Diego De Ascentis dispossessed Sneijder and flicked the ball wide for Ferreira Pinto, but his deep cross was cleared just in time by Ivan Cordoba as former Inter striker Robert Acquafresca was waiting to pounce.

After 30 minutes, Sneijder once again was involved when he set up Balotelli, but the youngster fired wide from the edge of the area. The Dutchman then hit the crossbar with a curling freekick.

There was little more action in the latter part of the half, as Mourinho's men remained composed until the half-time whistle.


The hosts nearly levelled the score just two minutes into the second-half. Ferreira Pinto's shot took a deflection that left the goalkeeper stranded, but it bounced just wide of the net as Inter breathed a sigh of relief.

The visitors did find the back of the net again, but it was disallowed. Sneijder's freekick was headed in by Lucio, but the Brazilian was offside.

Pinto was removed for Simone Tiribocchi as Atalanta opted for a more attacking formation to attempt to get back into the match.

A dramatic turn of events occurred on 65 minutes as the influential Sneijder earned a second booking for a late tackle on Tiberio Guarente and Inter were down to ten men.

Despite the numerical inferiority, Eto'o found himself in space on the counter, but his low shot could not beat Coppola from a tight angle. Inter then introduced Thiago Motta and Dejan Stankovic in order to make up the numbers in midfield as Balotelli and Milito made way.

Atalanta equalised as two substitutes combined. Simone Tiribocchi grabbed his sixth of the season as he latched onto a ball over the top by Fabio Caserta and confidently finished the move with ten minutes left on the clock.

Eto'o was again in the thick of the action as his vicious volley flew over the crossbar and both teams looked for a late winner. In the very last minute, Coppola saved a point for Atalanta with a brilliant kick save on Thiago Motta after some confusion in the area.

Despite the draw, Inter moved an extra point clear of rivals Milan and Juventus, as they lost their respective matches to Palermo and Bari this weekend. Meanwhile, Atalanta earned a precious point in the relegation race.

Adam Scime, Goal.com