|
Atalanta wasted the chance to defeat Udinese late on when Riccardo Zampagna smashed his penalty against the crossbar.
Luigi Del Neri faced his hometown club, but the Friulani had not lost here in Serie A for 11 years. Cristiano Doni's suspension forced Atalanta into a tactical reshuffle with a 4-3-3 system, while the visitors had star striker Antonio Di Natale absent on compasionate leave.
This was a special occasion at the Stadio Azzurri d'Italia, as it was Atalanta's centenary and a parade of old glories from the club's history - including Maurizio Ganz, Marco Nappi, Humberto Maschio, Pierluigi Pizzaballa and Kurt Christensen - delighted the fans.
Ferreira Pinto and Antonio Langella had two fierce strikes from the edge of the box charged down. Defender Moris Carrozzieri created all sorts of problems from set-pieces early on and threatened on three consecutive corner kicks. The first two were deflected over by Cristian Zapata, then the Atalanta man got his head firmly to the third, but Samir Handanovic dived down to palm it off the line.
Udinese's first real shot on goal was from Fabio Quagliarella 30 metres out, but there was a disconcerting moment when Ferreira Pinto fell awkwardly over Lukovic, landing on the back of his head and neck, but he was able to continue.
Handanovic was again crucial with a fine save pushing Langella's snapshot round the post. The Udinese goalkeeper excelled himself moments later as Lukovic slipped and let Ferreira Pinto clear on goal, but despite a deflection to loop the ball into the air, Handanovic managed to fingertip it over the bar. From the resulting corner a splendid volley from Under-21 international Simone Padoin skimmed the upright.
Both sides has a great chance on the stroke of half-time. First Simone Pepe's free kick took a deflection off the wall and goalkeeper Ferdinando Coppola had to change direction mid-air to parry. At the other end, Tissone flashed a free header across the face of goal.
Del Neri changed two of his front three after the break, moving Padoin to the left. Capelli's crucial tackle stopped Pepe short as he ran into the box.
Handanovic had his palms stung by a Padoin rocket from the edge of the penalty area. From the resulting corner kick the ball looped into the air and Lukovic bundled into Pellegrino. The referee pointed to the spot, but it was an extremely soft penalty. A certain justice was served, as Zampagna's penalty thumped the crossbar.
| 
