Fiorentina 2-2 Atalanta: Four Goals, a Changed Referee, and No Relief for Anyone
An entertaining draw at the Franchi left two injury-ravaged, out-of-form sides exactly where they started.
A four-goal Serie A thriller at the Artemio Franchi ended with both teams stuck exactly where they started. Fiorentina and Atalanta played out a 2-2 draw on Thursday that was far more entertaining than it was useful — a point that, as Football Italia put it, does precious little for either struggling side.
How the goals came
Atalanta struck first, just before the break. A midfield turnover launched a rapid counter, and Charles De Ketelaere swept home from 12 yards on 41 minutes. Fiorentina answered early in the second half through Alieu Njie, whose diving header from an Alex Jiménez cross made it 1-1 on 53 minutes, and the hosts were ahead on 61 when João Mário's strike from outside the box deflected off Relja Obric and past Marco Carnesecchi.
The lead lasted 13 minutes. Nicola Zalewski, set up by De Ketelaere, drilled a low shot through a crowd of legs on 74 minutes to level it, and Beto headed Fiorentina's last chance wide in added time. David de Gea kept the point alive at the other end, including a save off the line to deny Nikola Krstović's header.
A strange night all around
It was an eventful match even beyond the scoring: Atalanta lost Thomas Kristensen to injury after barely two minutes, forcing Giorgio Scalvini on early, and referee Federico La Penna was unable to continue after the first half, with fourth official Livio Marinelli taking over.
What it means
Not much, and that is the problem. Fiorentina came in off three straight defeats, the brief bounce from Paolo Vanoli's arrival having faded, with Marin Pongračić, Luca Ranieri, Arthur Atta and Fabiano Parisi all sidelined. Atalanta's injury list is even longer — Scamacca, Bellanova, Raspadori, Kessié, Kolašinac, Hien and Kossounou were all out — and the draw leaves them with one win in their last seven league games, days after a wild 4-4 against Frosinone. Two of Serie A's supposed European contenders are treading water, and matchday nine offered both a show but no relief.