Misfiring Atalanta held to goalless draw by lowly Venezia
BERGAMO, Italy :Atalanta were held to a 0-0 home draw by second-bottom Venezia in Serie A on Saturday as Gian Piero Gasperini's side put on an underwhelming display that saw them miss the chance to move provisionally level on points with leaders Inter Milan.
Atalanta, who exited the Champions League and Coppa Italia last month, are struggling to regain momentum in the title race and have been winless at home in the league since the end of December.
Despite winning just three of their last 10 Serie A games, they remain third on 55 points, one point behind second-placed Napoli and two off Inter before those sides meet at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium later on Saturday.
Venezia extended their winless run to 10 games as they sit 19th with 18 points.
Atalanta renewed their hopes of first top-flight title when they cruised to a 5-0 win at lowly Empoli last Sunday but looked slow and predictable against a promoted Venezia side.
Striker Ademola Lookman, who scored a brilliant double with a goal in each half in their last game, should have put Atalanta in front after 20 minutes but sent his effort just wide.
Davide Zappacosta and Juan Cuadrado could have given Atalanta the lead before the break but both hit the woodwork from tight angles.
Goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, meanwhile, had to intervene to keep the score level, denying Venezia's Alessio Zerbin in first-half stoppage time after the forward tried to lob him from close range.
With Italy coach Luciano Spalletti in the stands, Atalanta's league-leading scorer Mateo Retegui blasted over in the 50th minute after missing the target with two headers in the first half.
The frustration among the home fans grew as Atalanta, who had a run of 11 wins between October and December, continued to waste good chances, with Lookman sending one over from point-blank range late in the game.
Atalanta travel to Juventus on March 9 before they host Inter and visit Fiorentina later this month.
Venezia have now gone four consecutive matches without scoring in a single Serie A season for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign.
