Having seen their lead at the summit cut to seven points after a 1-0 defeat to rivals AC Milan, Inter were looking for a response against an Atalanta side low on confidence following a 6-1 dismantling by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League.
Gianluca Scamacca’s 12th-minute strike from range caused Yann Sommer some trouble as he spilt, but the home goalkeeper quickly recovered to prevent the onrushing Lazar Samardzic from taking aim on the rebound. Unfortunately for the travelling fans, that early sighter for La Dea was not a sign of things to come.
From there, Inter assumed control, and after dominating possession, the Nerazzurri edged ahead in the 26th minute when Francesco Pio Esposito latched onto Nicolo Barella’s pass into the box and swiftly drilled a low shot through the hand of Marco Carnesecchi.
There were further chances for Inter to double their advantage before the break, coming close through Piotr Zielinski, whose deflected shot flew wide of the target, shortly before Marcus Thuram poked Yann Bisseck’s searching ball marginally off-target.
It took just five minutes for Raffaele Palladino to turn to his bench after the restart, making a double change that did little to stop the hosts’ relentless attacks.
Marauding runs from centre-back Bisseck caused the away side issues, and Thuram looked to have a golden chance, only for the alert Carnesecchi to smother the close-range shot.
A rare opportunity arrived with time ticking away, as Kamaldeen Sulemana stole possession from Dumfries deep in the Inter half, running through on goal and curling an effort that was parried by Sommer for a simple tap-in from Nikola Krstovic to restore parity.
There were plenty of protests from the home side, with manager Cristian Chivu seeing a second yellow card and being dismissed five minutes from time.
Penalty appeals from Davide Frattesi were ignored moments later as Inter looked to regain their lead, but their missed opportunities ultimately came back to haunt them as two points slipped from the Nerazzurri’s grasp.
A draw takes Inter eight clear of their city rivals, but having played a game more.
Now winless in three league games (D2, L1), more dropped points for Atalanta will do them few favours in their hunt for European qualification, with La Dea’s slow start to the campaign, coupled with their unspectacular away form of three wins in 12 (D5, L4), likely to be their downfall.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolo Barella (Inter)
Catch up on the full match stats here.
