Atalanta show their mettle at Lazio to keep in-form Inter off Serie A summit
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Atalanta’s 11-match winning streak in Serie A ended with a 1-1 draw at Lazio, but Marco Brescianini’s 88th-minute equaliser kept them top of the table. Fourth-placed Lazio dominated the first half in Rome and were rewarded in the 27th minute when Nicolò Rovella played a high through ball to Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, who cut inside the box and sent a bouncing volley into the net to break.
![[Lautaro Martínez arrives at the far post too score his first goal for Inter since 3 November.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/663ebd018adbe20aeb54b8c22d8e31024261cea2/36_141_3085_1852/master/3085.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
But Gian Piero Gasperini’s relentless side kept pushing and earned a draw in a thrilling finish to the game. Both sides had several chances to score late on before Brescianini tapped into an open goal with two minutes to go after Ademola Lookman set him up him from the left.
Inter’s coach, Simone Inzaghi, reaffirmed his faith in Lautaro Martínez after he ended his goal drought in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Cagliari that kept the Nerazzurri at the top of Serie A. Inter’s skipper had not scored for his club since 3 November in a 1-0 win over Venezia. But the Argentinian striker got back on the scoresheet in the 71st minute with a volley to put his team 2-0 up. Inzaghi praised Martinez’s resilience despite his recent struggles.
“Naturally, this situation was weighing on him, though we told him to relax and that he continued to give the team so much with his work. Lautaro [Martínez] will never be a problem for Inter, only a resource,” Inzaghi told DAZN streaming service.
Alessandro Bastoni’s header and Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty sealed Inter’s fifth consecutive away win. Inzaghi praised his side’s hard work from set pieces and the contributions of players such as Federico Dimarco, Calhanoglu and Kristjan Asllani.
