Atalanta’s Title Challenge Stalls with Venezia Draw

Atalanta’s hopes of closing the gap on the Serie A leaders suffered a setback as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Venezia at the Gewiss Stadium. The stalemate extends Atalanta’s winless home run in Serie A in 2025 and represents a missed opportunity to capitalize on the upcoming clash between Napoli and Inter.

Atalanta, missing several key players including Isak Hien, Odilon Kossounou, Gianluca Scamacca, and Giorgio Scalvini, welcomed Daniel Maldini back to the bench and started Ademola Lookman, despite reported tension between the player and manager Gian Piero Gasperini. Venezia, winless in 2025, were also without a number of players, including Francesco Zampano, Marin Sverko, Richie Sagrado, Filip Stankovic, and Michael Svoboda, but were buoyed by a recent 0-0 draw with Lazio.

The match began with early penalty appeals for Venezia’s Kike Perez, who went down under a challenge from Stefan Posch, but the referee waved play on. Lookman then hit the side-netting for Atalanta.

Daniel Maldini makes his #SerieA debut for Atalanta #AtalantaVenezia pic.twitter.com/Z7v1UXL3q8

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) March 1, 2025

Lookman was a constant threat for Atalanta, setting up Mateo Retegui for two headed chances, both of which went over. Alessio Zerbin missed an opportunity on the counter-attack for Venezia, while Juan Cuadrado and Lookman tested Venezia goalkeeper Ionut Radu.

Atalanta were unlucky not to take the lead when Davide Zappacosta’s shot, set up by Lookman’s back-heel flick, struck the far post. Cuadrado also hit the woodwork with a cross-shot, and Radu denied Lookman from close range after a pass from Charles De Ketelaere. Venezia almost snatched a lead against the run of play just before halftime, but Marco Carnesecchi saved Zerbin’s lob following a Zappacosta error.

The second half saw continued Atalanta pressure, but with limited clear chances. Retegui fired over from a Cuadrado pull-back, and De Ketelaere shot straight at Radu after being set up by Lookman. Lookman himself drilled a shot narrowly wide, while Carnesecchi denied Venezia’s John Yeboah from close range.

Mario Pasalic’s looping header landed on the roof of the net, but Lookman missed the best chance of the match, firing over from point-blank range after Sead Kolasinac flicked on a corner.

The draw leaves Atalanta unable to fully capitalize on the upcoming top-of-the-table clash. Venezia, meanwhile, will take encouragement from their resilient defensive performance, securing a valuable point in their fight for Serie A survival.