Inter 1-1 Atalanta: Controversial equaliser hands hosts blow in title race
Atalanta BC substitute Nikola Krstovic scored a controversial late equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan at San Siro, leaving the home side without a win in their last three matches across all competitions.
Match Report
Inter’s title ambitions had already been dented last weekend after a 1-0 loss to rivals AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, and Cristian Chivu’s team struggled to deliver a convincing response on Saturday.
Pio Esposito opened the scoring in the 26th minute, blasting home from a narrow angle on the left shortly after Gianluca Scamacca had earlier forced a shaky save from Yann Sommer.
Just after the hour mark, Marcus Thuram had a golden chance to double Inter’s advantage when Henrikh Mkhitaryan sent him clean through on goal, but Marco Carnesecchi made an outstanding stop to keep Atalanta in the contest.
With the match appearing under control for Inter, Atalanta pushed forward in the closing 20 minutes. Kamaldeen Sulemana first fired off target before Krstovic eventually found the equaliser.
Sulemana launched a rapid counter-attack into Inter’s half, appearing to shove Denzel Dumfries during the move. Although his first shot was saved by Sommer, Krstovic reacted quickest to slot home the rebound.
Inter protested strongly, insisting Dumfries had been fouled in the buildup. However, after a prolonged VAR check, the goal stood and was awarded to Atalanta.
The draw keeps the Nerazzurri eight points ahead of Milan—who face Lazio on Sunday—while Atalanta remain in seventh place in the table.
Data Debrief:
Inter held back once again
Inter have now gone three matches without a victory in all competitions (D2 L1) for the first time in nearly a year, with their previous run of similar results coming during a five-game stretch in April 2025 (D2 L3).
Despite dropping points, Chivu’s team controlled large portions of the match and may feel they deserved the win. They finished with 1.58 expected goals (xG) but were punished for wastefulness in attack, while Atalanta registered 1.12 xG.
