Matchday 26 of the 2023-2024 Serie A TIM saw Atalanta and AC Milan share the spoils in a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan. Koopmeiners’ penalty allowed the Nerazzurri to extend their winning streak, bringing them to 46 points in the standings.
After the game had taken an unwelcome turn when Leao’s thumping strike broke the deadlock early on, the Nerazzurri tried to fight back in the 13th minute when De Roon, Holm and De Ketelaere went close in quick succession, but the home defence thwarted all three efforts. Koopmeiners tried his luck in the 17th minute after De Ketelaere had robbed a Milan player and the Dutchman’s shot was deflected for a corner. A minute later, Djimsiti’s back-heel shot went just wide. Loftus-Cheek fired wide on 20 minutes before Atalanta equalised when the referee awarded the Nerazzurri a penalty via VAR for Giroud’s foul on Holm. Koopmeiners stepped up to convert the spot-kick, sending Maignan the wrong way and bringing Atalanta level in the dying minutes of the first half.
In the second half, Loftus-Cheek’s 58th-minute effort was blocked by Carnesecchi, who then pulled off a fine save to deny Calabria on 61 minutes. In the 69th minute, Pulisic cut inside from the right and fired an angled shot wide, while in the 77th minute, Loftus-Cheek’s powerful shot stung Carnesecchi’s gloves. In the 80th minute, Carnesecchi’s miracle save denied Leao from close range, before Zappacosta cleared Giroud’s follow-up effort off the line to keep the score at 1-1, which was the final result of the game at the Meazza.
There will be no rest for the Nerazzurri as Gasperini’s men return to the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia on Monday for a morning session behind closed doors to begin preparations for Wednesday’s rescheduled league clash with Inter.
AC MILAN 1-1 ATALANTA
Scorers: Leao 3 (M), Koopmeiners pen 42 (A).
AC Milan: Maignan, Florenzi (Calabria 57), Thiaw, Gabbia, Hernandez, Adli, Bennacer (Musah 79), Pulisic (Okafor 88), Loftus-Cheek, Leao, Giroud. Unused bench: Sportiello, Mirante, Reijnders, Kalulu, Chukwueze, Kjaer, Terracciano, Jimenez, Musah. Coach: Stefano Pioli.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Scalvini (Toloi 89), Djimsiti, Kolašinac, Holm (Zappacosta 46), de Roon, Éderson, Ruggeri (Hien 79), Koopmeiners, Miranchuk (Scamacca 63), De Ketelaere (Lookman 46). Unused bench: Musso, Rossi, Palomino, Pašalić, El Bilal, Bakker, Adopo, Hateboer. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Referee: Daniele Orsato from Schio;
Assistant referees: Alessandro Costanzo from Orvieto and Matteo Passeri from Gubbio;
Fourth official: Francesco Cosso from Reggio Calabria;
V.A.R.: Massimiliano Irrati from Pistoia;
A.V.A.R.: Marco Piccinini from Forlì.
Notes: Pioli (M), De Roon (A), Holm (A), Holm (M), Lookman (A) and Éderson (A) booked.
