Fiorentina’s difficult run at home in Serie A continued as they drew 2-2 with Atalanta at Stadio Artemio Franchi, extending their winless league sequence in Florence to eight matches.
La Viola have drawn five and lost three of those games, while the result also means they have gone five matches without a victory in all competitions. Atalanta are now winless in four, with two draws and two defeats, although the point ended a run of four successive away losses.
Atalanta suffered an early setback when Thomas Kristensen was forced off injured inside the opening four minutes. He became the second Atalanta defender in as many matches to go off in such circumstances, following Raoul Bellanova’s thigh problem during Saturday’s 4-4 draw with Frosinone.
The visitors initially struggled to settle, allowing Fiorentina to create the first openings. Real Madrid loanee Franco Mastantuono saw a shot kept out by Marco Carnesecchi, while Atalanta then threatened at the other end when Eljif Elmas was denied by a goal-saving block in the 19th minute.
Gianluca Gaetano and Mastantuono both missed chances from promising positions before Atalanta took the lead four minutes before half-time. Charles De Ketelaere met Nicola Zalewski’s cross and swept the ball home, giving Atalanta their first away goal before the interval this season and ending his nine-month wait for a domestic goal.
Fiorentina have now conceded 10 first-half goals in Serie A this term. They were close to falling further behind shortly afterwards, but David De Gea produced an excellent save to keep out Nikola Krstovic’s header.
The second half began late after fourth official Livio Marinelli replaced Federico La Penna as referee because of an injury. Fiorentina responded strongly once play resumed, with Mastantuono sending a superb free-kick narrowly wide.
They equalised when Alieu Nije, on loan from Torino, scored his first Fiorentina goal with a fine diving header from Alex Jimenez’s cross. Jimenez has now recorded five goal contributions in his past seven appearances, including two goals and three assists.
Fiorentina completed the turnaround shortly after the hour mark. Joao Mario, on loan from Juventus, cut inside before his effort took a heavy deflection and beat Carnesecchi for his first goal for the club.
Atalanta’s leading scorer Krstovic sent a good opportunity wide as the visitors searched for an equaliser, but Zalewski restored parity with 16 minutes remaining by squeezing his first goal of the season inside the near post.
Marco Brescianini was denied by a block from close range late on, leaving both sides to settle for a point. Fiorentina moved up one place to 18th but remain in the relegation zone, while Atalanta stayed 12th.
Flashscore’s Player of the Match was Fiorentina’s Alejandro Jimenez.
