Keeper Carnesecchi earns point for fortunate Atalanta at Udinese

Updated: Jan 11, 2025, 12:11 pm

Atalanta were held 0-0 at Udinese in Serie A on Saturday as they missed the chance to move level on points with leaders Napoli but they were fortunate to escape with a draw thanks to the woodwork and alert goalkeeping of Marco Carnesecchi.

Atalanta's second draw in a row means they are second on 42 points, two behind leaders Napoli who have also played 19 games and host Hellas Verona on Sunday. Udinese are ninth with 26.

The hosts dominated most of the match and came agonisingly close just after the half-hour mark when Carnesecchi had to make a remarkable save to claw a header from Jaka Bijol off the line.

Atalanta rode their luck again shortly before the break as Udinese's Alexis Sánchez struck the woodwork with a header and rattled the crossbar from the rebound before Carnesecchi kept out Sandi Lovric's effort in a dramatic sequence of attempts.

However, Atalanta nearly snatched victory in the dying moments when Lazar Samardzic had their second shot on target but Razvan Sava made a crucial save to ensure it ended goalless.

Marco Carnesecchi was key to Atalanta earning a point against Udinese.
Mattia Radoni/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini admitted his side struggled against Udinese.

"In the first half Udinese had more physicality, quality, quantity, they had a couple of clear goal opportunities and we struggled to contain them physically," he said. "In the second half we did better and perhaps Udinese also dropped a bit. We grew but not enough."

Mateo Retegui, Juan Cuadrado and Gianluca Scamacca were not available for Atalanta due to injuries, but Gasperini denied this was the reason hiss side struggled for most of the match.

"...absences can weigh on us, but in general, we weren't good at holding up to their physicality," he said. "On a technical level, we didn't have clarity. If you don't recover the ball, you can't generate play: few of us managed to keep up the pace of the entire match."

Udinese coach Kosta Runjaic, meanwhile, said the draw was bittersweet.

"It left a bit of a bitter taste in our mouths, we collected a point and it could have been three, but we were against one of the strongest teams in Serie A," he said. "We held the field well, played a good game, compliments go to the whole team."