Woeful Atalanta gets tough month off to poor start with draw at Udinese

MILAN (AP) — Atalanta got a tough month off to a poor start at Udinese as it could draw only 0-0 in Serie A on Saturday.

It could have been worse for Atalanta had Alexis Sánchez not wasted a glorious opportunity to give Udinese the lead on the stroke of halftime.

The Chile forward headed a cross onto the right post and fired the rebound onto the underside of the crossbar from six meters out and with the goal gaping.

It was a woeful performance from Atalanta, which produced few chances and had goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi to thank for a wonder save in the first half.

Atalanta remained second, two points behind Napoli. The Serie A leader hosts relegation-threatened Hellas Verona on Sunday. Napoli was also only two points ahead of Inter Milan, which also plays a team at the wrong end of the table on Sunday, in Venezia.

Atalanta next faces Juventus and then Napoli in Serie A. It also has Champions League matches against Sturm Graz and Barcelona this month.

Back to earth with a bump for Milan

Mike Maignan made a rare howler as Sérgio Conceição’s first Serie A match as AC Milan coach ended 1-1 at home against relegation-threatened Cagliari.

Conceição steered Milan to the Italian Super Cup trophy after just over a week at the helm and the trophy was paraded to the fans before kickoff.

Milan took the lead in the 51st minute. Christian Pulisic hit the crossbar moments earlier and the United States international saw another shot go off the right post but Álvaro Morata was quickest to the rebound to tap it in from point blank range.

But Cagliari was level just four minutes later as Maignan — who made a miraculous save in the first half — got his dive very wrong and was unable to push away Nadir Zortea’s weak and scuffed effort.

Milan remained eighth, although it has played less matches than most of the other teams. Cagliari inched to within a point of safety.

Both coaches sent off

Juventus fell to yet another Serie A draw as it was held at Torino to 1-1 in a derby match.

It was Juventus’ sixth draw in seven league matches.

Both coaches were sent off early in the second half after an argument between them sparked a scuffle on the touchline.

Juventus took the lead in the eighth minute with a fantastic solo effort from Kenan Yıldız, who cut inside from the right, past two defenders, and drilled hard into the near bottom corner.

However, Torino levelled in first-half stoppage time, also with a wonderful goal. Nikola Vlasic controlled Yann Karamoh’s pass and smashed it in off the inside of the left post from the edge of the area.

Relegation battle

Nikola Krstovic scored twice to help Lecce to what could prove to be a crucial 3-1 win at fellow struggler Empoli.

Lecce moved up to 13th, level with Empoli and three points above the relegation zone.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer