Third-placed AC Milan continued to lose ground in the Serie A title race, drawing 1-1 at Atalanta after a Teun Koopmeiners penalty canceled out Rafael Leão's superb opener for the hosts on Sunday .
Milan, who missed the chance of second place last weekend by losing 4-2 at Monza, are 13 points behind leaders Inter Milan, who won 4-0 at Lecce on Sunday and still have a game in hand.
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Stefano Pioli's Milan remains third with 53 points from 26 games, four points behind second-placed Juventus.
“Tonight we lost two points. If there was a team that deserved to win it was us,” Pioli told DAZN. “We played our best game against Atalanta, we played with personality and quality without letting them shoot. The best performance of the week.”
Atalanta, with one more game to play than the teams immediately above, is fifth with 46 points, two behind Bologna in fourth place.
Milan got off to a good start when Leao broke the deadlock in the third minute, capping a solo run with a stunning shot into the top corner from a tight angle.
The Portuguese striker ended his scoring drought in Serie A, scoring in the competition for the first time in five months.
But Atalanta leveled the game from the penalty spot shortly before half-time when Koopmeiners sent Mike Maignan the wrong way after a penalty awarded for a foul by Olivier Giroud.
Milan continued to dominate the match after the break with 70% possession against Atalanta, who traveled to the San Siro on the back of five consecutive wins and remain undefeated this year.
But Gian Piero Gasperini's side, who defeated Milan 2-1 in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals last month, were far from their best form. This, however, did not make Milan's task much easier, as most of the home team's 20 attempts did not end up on target.
Leao played a superb lofted pass to find Christian Pulisic, who controlled the ball well but sent his low shot just wide of the far post in the 69th minute, before Ruben Loftus-Cheek was denied by goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.
Olivier Giroud also saw a goal-bound shot go off the line late in the match and Atalanta managed to see the result against hosts Milan.
“Milan is a great team, with very high values and they put us in difficulties,” Gasperini said at a press conference. “In the other games against them we didn't have these kinds of difficulties, while tonight we suffered because of their strength.”
Atalanta returns to the San Siro on Wednesday to face Inter.
