Rome (AFP)

Atalanta struck a blow by beating Juventus (1-0) on Sunday for the first time in twenty years in the league, dislodging the Bianconeri from 3rd place more than ever under high pressure in the battle for the Champions League.

"We must only think of us, we will have to win as many matches as possible, but if we play with this spirit and this desire, I am convinced that there will be no problem for the future," assured Turin coach Andrea Pirlo, with his usual composure, after this fifth defeat of the season for the reigning nine-time Italian champion.

After having given up on her dreams of a tenth consecutive scudetto (Inter have a 12-point lead), the "Old Lady" fell to fourth place.

It can even be joined by Naples (5th) in case of success of the players of Gennaro Gattuso on the leader Nerazzurro in the evening, at the end of this 31st day of Serie A.

The most worrying for this Juve is undoubtedly that, after having sometimes displayed a deficit of motivation against "small", it also loses now its "finals" against direct rivals: after Inter (0-2) in January and Naples (0-1) in February, it is therefore Atalanta who offered the Bianconeri scalp, deprived of Cristiano Ronaldo, injured.

- Chiesa comes out injured -

This shock scent of the Champions League, locked and intense, was released at the very end of the match in Bergamo by Ruslan Malinovskyi whose strike, deflected by Turin defender Alex Sandro, left Wojciech Szczesny (87th) no chance. .

The returning Paolo Dybala, tenured for the first time in more than three months after a knee injury, did not forget "CR7" and Alvaro Morata missed him two fine match points (34th, then Gollini stoppage 76th) .

Juventus, dominating in the first period with in particular an Adrien Rabiot in sight, died out little by little after the break, losing Federico Chiesa to injury (58th).

Atalanta took a long time to find the frame (attempts by Pessina, 24th, Muriel 59th, Zapata, 70th), but from the moment it found it, thanks to Malinovskyi, Juve cracked.

This is the ninth victory in the last ten matches for Atalanta, which offers itself a nice psychological advantage over the Turinese before the final of the Italian Cup which will oppose the two teams in a month.

- Milan finally at San Siro -

"It's a game that matters. Winning today means we can beat Juve and above all it shows that they can lose against us, but I did not find a Juve in difficulty, they were very strong" , said Bergamasque coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

Milan, for its part, preserved its second place by returning to victory at San Siro, against Genoa (2-1), after six consecutive matches without a win at home in all competitions (three draws, three defeats).

"This victory is worth more than three points, it is not normal for us all these matches without winning here", admitted defender Simon Kjaer, craftsman at the end of the match of a miraculous double rescue on the line with his friend Fikayo Tomori.

In the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, suspended, Milan relied on a nice goal from Ante Rebic (13th) but also a very involuntary help from Genoa striker Gianluca Scamacca (68th), who scored against his camp the second goal Rossonero while his team had managed to equalize by Mattia Destro head (37th).

Lazio also remains in the race for C1 thanks to its spectacular victory against Benevento (5-3), including a double from Ciro Immobile (16 goals this season).

The Laziali (6th) return to four points of Juve, with one game less.

© 2021 AFP