BERGAMO, Italy (BN24) — Atalanta overcame a long list of absentees to secure a 1-1 draw with Como in Serie A on Saturday, with both sides trading early goals before fading in an uneventful second half.
La Dea entered the match severely depleted, missing nearly an entire starting XI due to injuries, and was without head coach Ivan Juric on the touchline. Meanwhile, Como were also without their own manager, Cesc Fabregas, who served a one-match suspension.
The hosts struck first just six minutes in through Lazar Samardzic. The Serbian midfielder exchanged a neat one-two with Ederson on the edge of the box before calmly finishing past goalkeeper Elia Caprile. It was Samardzic’s first Serie A goal in nearly a year and his second in four days following his midweek European strike.
Como equalized in the 19th minute with a stroke of fortune. Maxi Perrone’s driven ball from the right side, which appeared to be a cross, struck the far post and bounced over the line. Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi got a hand to it and pushed it onto the crossbar, but goal-line technology confirmed the ball had already crossed.
The rest of the match played out cautiously, with both teams struggling to create scoring chances. Atalanta managed only one shot on target in the second half — the same as Como. The best opportunity fell to Ademola Lookman, making his first Serie A start of the season after featuring in the Champions League midweek. He combined well with Kamaldeen Sulemana on a quick set piece but was denied by Como’s recovering defenders.
Despite their limited resources, with only seven players on the bench, including two goalkeepers, Atalanta held firm in the second half. Juric’s side was without key figures across the field, including Charles De Ketelaere, Gianluca Scamacca, Raoul Bellanova, Giorgio Scalvini, Odilon Kossounou, and Sead Kolasinac.
Fabregas handed league debuts to several summer arrivals, including €25 million signing Martin Baturina, Nico Paz, Jayden Addai, and Anastasios Douvikas.
The result leaves Atalanta sixth in the Serie A table with 10 points, just one ahead of Como, who remain in seventh on nine points after an encouraging start to their debut top-flight campaign.
