Atalanta wastes chance to reclaim Serie A lead with 1-1 draw

ROME (AP) — Atalanta wasted a chance to reclaim the Serie A lead when it was held to a 1-1 draw at home by promoted Cremonese on Sunday.

The result left unbeaten Atalanta second but level on points with leader Napoli and third-place AC Milan, the defending champion.

Cremonese defender Emanuele Valeri equalized in the 78th off a rebound for his first goal in the top division, four minutes after Merih Demiral had put Atalanta ahead by redirecting a free kick from Teun Koopmeiners with a header.

Atalanta also had a goal disallowed by VAR after the hour mark when it was determined that Caleb Okoli had used his hand to deflect in a free kick from Koopmeiners.

Cremonese, playing in the top division for the first time in 26 years, had gained its first point last weekend against Sassuolo after opening the season with four straight losses.

Atalanta produced twice as many shots as Cremonese (14 to 7) and dominated the possession but had trouble finding the target.

Napoli beat Spezia 1-0 on Saturday and Milan won 2-1 at Sampdoria.

Later, Juventus was hosting Salernitana.

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Atalanta’s Luis Muriel, left, and Cremonese’s Vlad Chiriches vie for the ball during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Cremonese, at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.SHARE: