Atalanta trail the top 4 after losing to Lecce

MILAN (AP) — Atalanta’s ambitions to finish in the top four of Serie A were shattered when they lost 2-1 at home to Lecce on Sunday.

Gambian striker Assan Ceesay and French midfielder Alexis Blin scored the goals for Lecce, who moved 10 points out of the relegation zone with the win. Danish striker Rasmus Højlund scored Atalanta’s extra bonus with three minutes remaining.

In the tight bid for European Cup tickets, Atalanta fell to sixth place after Roma beat Hellas Verona 1-0 at home and Lazio won 2-0 at Salernitana.

Roma moved up to third place ahead of Milan thanks to a better goal difference. The direct duels will be the first tiebreaker at the end of the course. Lazio trailed by two points in the top four, with Atalanta one behind.

Atalanta were looking to move up the table ahead of next week’s game against Milan, but that got complicated early on when Ceesay scored after four minutes with a kick from 30 yards out.

Lecce went to 74 after playing a short corner. Gabriel Strefezza put the ball in, which a lone Blin headed into the net.

Atalanta took advantage of a bad start from goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone and Højlund put the emotion at the end of the match. Falcone then redeemed himself by parrying a shot by Colombian striker Luis Muriel over the crossbar.

FIRST GOAL

Norwegian striker Ola Solbakken scored his first goal for Roma in his first start for the club.

Solbakken, arriving from Bodø/Glimt, scored in the throes of the first half after receiving a backheel from Leonardo Spinazzola.

Defender Rick Karsdorp has played for Roma for the first time since a falling out with coach Jose Mourinho three months ago.

Verona suffered their second defeat in eight games and dropped two points from 17th-placed and permanent Spezia.

SUPER STILL

Ciro Immobile picked up the powder at the right time for Lazio.

Immobile scored twice in the space of nine minutes in the second half to spoil Paulo Sosa’s debut as Salernitana manager.

It was Immobile’s first Serie A goals in more than a month and helped the capital side to a three-game losing streak in the tournament. The forward also scored in the midweek win over Cluj in the Europa Conference League.

JUVENTUS IS A WALL

Juventus moved into last place in European Cups by beating Spezia 2-0. Moise Kean and Argentina’s Ángel Di María scored in each half for Vecchia Signora, who for the third consecutive league game won without conceding.

Moreover, Fiorentina drew 1-1 at home with Empoli.