Title-chasing SS Lazio on Wednesday suffered their first Serie A defeat in nine months, falling 3-2 at Atalanta BC to stay four points behind leaders Juventus after surrendering a two-goal lead.
Lazio, playing their first game since Feb. 29 after the COVID-19 suspension, had a Marten de Roon own-goal to thank for putting them ahead after six minutes in Bergamo, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic adding a superb second from distance five minutes later.
Robin Gosens headed fourth-placed Atalanta back into the game seven minutes before halftime, before Ruslan Malinovskyi rifled in the equalizer on 66 minutes.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Jose Luis Palomino then sealed the win 10 minutes from time.
Lazio — bidding for their third Serie A title after 1973-1974 and 1999-2000 — have lost just three times in the league this season. Their most recent defeat before Wednesday was 1-0 at the hands of Inter on Sept. 25 last year.
“We knew that returning against Atalanta was one of the worst opponents to have,” said Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi, whose side were held 3-3 by the Bergamo side in Rome in October last year. “Unfortunately, the title race gets more complicated and we regret this, because we’re coming off a long series of unbeaten games. I don’t like losing and the lads are a little down.”
Atalanta are four points behind third-placed Inter, who were held 3-3 at home against US Sassuolo as Romelu Lukaku struck his 25th goal of the season, but Inter’s title hopes stalled.
“The draw hurts us,” Inter coach Antonio Conte said. “We had several chances to kill off the game. There is a lot of regret. If we look at the goals there is so much to be reviewed, small and big individual errors.”
Conte’s side got off to the worst possible start at San Siro with Italian forward Francesco Caputo opening the scoring for the visitors after just four minutes.
Caputo, 32, punished some poor defending, picking up a Filip Djuricic cross to slide the ball past a stunned Samir Handanovic.
However, a Jeremie Boga foul on Milan Skriniar allowed Inter to get back into the game when Lukaku stepped up on 41 minutes to score from the penalty spot.
Cristiano Biraghi then broke through following good work with Alexis Sanchez for the defender’s first league goal for Inter in first-half stoppage-time.
Inter could rue Roberto Gagliardini’s spectacularly missed chance to give the hosts a two-goal cushion, hitting the crossbar from point-blank range.
Three goals came in the final 10 minutes, with Domenico Berardi pulling Sassuolo level from the penalty spot on 81 minutes.
Lukaku had a goal ruled out for offside, before Borja Valero latched onto an Antonio Candreva free-kick to tap in five minutes later.
Defender Giangiacomo Magnani bagged a point for 12th-placed Sassuolo with one minute to go.
Conte’s woes were compounded by Skriniar being sent off in stoppage-time.
AS Roma stayed fifth, six points behind Atalanta, after a 2-1 win over UC Sampdoria thanks to a second-half Edin Dzeko brace — two volleys, one with his left foot and the other with his right.
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