Atalanta draw with Lecce as top-four battle heats up

Atalanta were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Lecce, as Mateo Retegui's second-half penalty for the hosts cancelled out Jesper Karlsson's spot kick for the visitors in Serie A on Sunday.

The result left third-placed Atalanta looking nervously over their shoulders as the battle for a top-four finish heats up.

Atalanta have 65 points with four games left, three points ahead of fourth-placed Juventus after their earlier win over Monza, while Bologna are two points further adrift in fifth but with a game in hand.

The match was originally scheduled for Friday but was rearranged after the death of the visitors' physiotherapist the day before.

In a protest at having to play the match so soon after their physio's death, Lecce played in a white jersey without logos and their crest, with the words ‘No values, no colours’ written on the chest along with a black ribbon.

"When faced with a grave injustice, we do not respond by blatantly violating the rules, that would be like competing with the league on who would behave worse," the club wrote in a statement.

"We will play the ‘match of trampled values’, but we do it wearing an anonymous white jersey, that does not represent us. It has no colours, no badges, no logos."

Lecce stunned the Gewiss Stadium after 29 minutes, as Sweden's Karlsson tucked away a penalty following a handball by his compatriot Isak Hien.

Retegui drew Atalanta level in the 69th minute, converting from the spot after Karlsson clumsily fouled Juan Cuadrado.

Minutes later, Serie A’s top scorer Retegui nearly completed the turnaround for Atalanta when he met a cross with a perfectly timed header that crashed against the upright and bounced away to safety.

Neither side seemed to have the energy for a last-minute push to grab