Fiorentina and Atalanta drew 2-2 at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Thursday night in the last game of Serie A Matchday 9. Charles De Ketelaere and Nicola Zalewski scored for Maurizio Sarri's Atalanta either side of a Fiorentina turnaround led by Alieu Njie and João Mário, extending both clubs' winless runs.
Match facts
- Result: Fiorentina 2-2 Atalanta (half-time 0-1)
- Competition: Serie A, Matchday 9
- Venue: Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
- Scorers: Fiorentina - Njie 53', João Mário 61'; Atalanta - De Ketelaere 41', Zalewski 74'
- Red cards: None
- Attendance: 20,351
- Next: Sassuolo v Fiorentina and Atalanta v Parma, both Monday 2 November
How the match unfolded
Atalanta's injury list grew inside four minutes, when Thomas Kristensen went off hurt and Giorgio Scalvini came on earlier than planned on his return from injury. Fiorentina started on the front foot, and Franco Mastantuono, on loan from Real Madrid, forced an early save from Marco Carnesecchi.
Atalanta's first real chance came in the 19th minute, when Eljif Elmas had a shot blocked. Four minutes before the break they went ahead on the counter. Gianluca Gaetano won the ball from Nicolò Fagioli in midfield, Zalewski crossed from the left and De Ketelaere swept in from 12 yards. Moments later David de Gea clawed out a Nikola Krstović header to keep it at 1-0.
The start of the second half was delayed because referee Federico La Penna could not continue. Fourth official Livio Marinelli took charge for the rest of the game. Paolo Vanoli replaced Fagioli with Christ Inao Oulaï at the break, and Mastantuono curled a free-kick just wide soon after the restart.
Fiorentina levelled in the 53rd minute. Álex Jiménez crossed to the back post and Njie, on loan from Torino, scored his first goal for the club with a diving header. In the 61st minute Njie set up João Mário, on loan from Juventus, whose low shot from the edge of the box took a heavy deflection off Relja Obrić and beat Carnesecchi.
Krstović shot just wide soon afterwards, and Atalanta drew level in the 74th minute. Zalewski, now on the right, took De Ketelaere's pass, cut inside and drilled a low left-footed shot past De Gea at the near post for his first goal of the season. Both goalkeepers made late saves, from Marco Brescianini at one end and De Ketelaere at the other, and neither side found a winner.
What does the draw mean?
The point lifts Fiorentina to 18th, but Vanoli's side remain in the relegation zone and have now gone eight Serie A home games without a win. Atalanta stay 12th and are without a win in four matches.
Fiorentina came into the game after a late 2-1 defeat at Inter last weekend, while Atalanta were beaten 3-2 at AC Milan earlier this month.
What happens next?
Both sides play again on Monday 2 November. Fiorentina visit Sassuolo (17:30 UK), and Atalanta host Parma (19:45 UK). More results are in our Serie A section.
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