With dreams of the Scudetto long since vanished, Juventus’ sole ambition was to secure a top-two spot in Serie A.
And Massimiliano Allegri’s men were the better of the two sides in a tame opening half-hour, though the only action required of Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi was a routine save to deny Fabio Miretti’s header.
The Bianconeri’s lack of cutting edge would come back to haunt them before the break, as on their only significant attack of the half, the visitors opened the scoring.
A smartly worked free-kick routine saw Mario Pasalic slide in Teun Koopmeiners, and the Dutchman rifled home to end a three-game scoring drought.
In the absence of Dusan Vlahovic, Federico Chiesa was the man tasked with stepping up to get the Old Lady back in the contest. The Italian was proving a threat after the restart, but after seeing an effort saved by Carnesecchi, he then dragged one wide as the hosts pressed forward.
The pressure had been consistently building on the Atalanta goal throughout the second half, and it eventually told as an incisive move from the hosts eventually saw Weston McKennie slot in Andrea Cambiaso to fire home the equaliser.
La Dea were stunned, and having squandered a one-goal lead to lose last week against Bologna, history appeared to be repeating itself here as Juventus edged ahead.
McKennie showed tremendous composure to chest Samuel Iling-Junior’s cross into the path of Arkadiusz Milk, who slammed home his first league goal since October.
Unlike when they first conceded, Atalanta reacted well to falling behind and were soon back on level terms through the talismanic Koopmeiners, slotting underneath Wojciech Szczesny to set up a grandstand finish.
Neither side would take a backward step in an enthralling final 10 minutes, but the necessary quality in the final-third was absent as both were forced to settle for a point.
Juve remain a point behind AC Milan in the race to be crowned ‘best of the rest’ in SA, while Atalanta missed the chance to climb into the top-five as their winless run in the league extended to four matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta)
