Fiorentina out-shot Atalanta but drew after Zalewski's late goal

Fiorentina led for thirteen minutes and held most of the ball, but Atalanta's finishing took a point.

Nicola Zalewski was involved in both of Atalanta's goals, and the second, a finish in the 74th minute, is what turned a Fiorentina win into a draw. Alieu Njie had levelled the match for the home side in the 53rd minute, and João Mário's strike in the 61st put them in front. Zalewski's effort came thirteen minutes later, set up by a pass from Charles De Ketelaere, who had himself scored earlier for the visitors.

Fiorentina did most of the early and middle work with the ball. They had 60% of the possession, against the 45.5% they usually hold at home, and they took shots at a rate well above their usual pattern, with 26 attempts where they normally manage 15.1. Attempts alone can flatter a side, though, so the quality of those chances matters more.

That is where the picture changes. Their expected goals figure, which gives each chance a value based on where it was taken from and how it was struck, came to 1.6, a little above the 1.3 they usually reach at home. Only four of those shots were on target, and the rest were either blocked or sailed wide, which is why the scoreboard looked so much tighter than the shot count.

Atalanta had much less of the ball, 40%, below the 45.8% they average away, and fewer attempts, 10 against their usual 14.3. Their expected goals came to 1.1, short of the 1.46 they normally produce on the road. Yet five of their shots were on target, and they scored twice, which is more than their chances alone would have suggested.

Fiorentina's defence gave up fewer good chances than it normally does at home, measured against the 1.79 they usually concede on that measure. Those two goals still went in, and the late equaliser came from a chance that the expected goals figure already had at a modest value. Good defensive numbers, in this case, did not stop the scoreboard moving.

Four goals in the match is more than the 3.3 the league averages per game, so this was a more open contest than most. Discipline was ordinary: five yellow cards were shown, none of them red, so both sides finished with eleven men, and neither side was short when the late goal arrived.

Fiorentina remain 19th with four points from eight matches, while Atalanta are 12th with ten.

Player of the matchA. Njie1 goal · 1 assist8.8

N. Zalewski1 goal · 1 assist8.8

C. De Ketelaere1 goal · 1 assist7.8

Álex Jiménez1 assist7.8