Juventus 2-2 Atalanta - Teun Koopmeiners fires double as The Old Lady held to draw in Serie A

Massimiliano Allegri’s woes continued on Sunday as his side let another lead slip, dropped points for the sixth game in seven and saw themselves slip down to third in the table.

Atalanta will be just as disappointed not to have taken the points back to Bergamo. The four-goal draw fails to improve their champions league qualification chances.

From the beginning of what was a crucial game for both sides, Juventus piled on the pressure but were unable to produce anything resembling clinicism in the first half.

Their best chances, which all came from free kicks, were spurned as both Federico Chiesa and Fabio Miretti drilled their efforts into the wall.

When a similar chance came at the other end, Atalanta showed how it was done. As Gianluca Scamacca shaped to shoot Mario Pasalic instead laid it off to Teun Koopmeiners, completely fooling the defending team, as the Dutchman lashed it into the Juve net.

Both teams came out for the second half all guns blazing, the game was defined by an intense 10-minute, three-goal spell just after the hour.

The first two went to Juventus as they first equalised, with Andrea Cambiaso finishing off a furiously fast move set in motion by Federico Chiesa, and worked forward by Weston McKennie.

The home side thought they’d scored the winner two minutes later. McKennie again turned provider, chesting down to Arkadiusz Milik who powered the ball through a crowd of players and past an unsighted Marco Carnesecchi.

Atalanta’s heads and energies stayed high. The equaliser came somewhat out of nowhere, but was not unearned, as Koopmeiners ghosted into the box and fired home Berat Djimsiti's pass.

Either side could have won it late on, but the 2-2 draw reflected the match both teams played.

Max Allegri said back in October that he did not consider his side to be title contenders, and even if that was not true then, it certainly is now. The performance against Atalanta was defined by a lack of bite in the final third, a lack of composure in the first, and an all-round shortage of compatibility from one end of the pitch to the other. It’s not that Juventus lack talent, but more that they do not seem like a team, of eleven players who believe in each other. As a result they play it too safe and too simple and, in the end, deliver too little. There'll be no gongs heading their way come Serie A awards season.

Scouts from the Premier League and elsewhere were supposedly in the stands this evening, most of them with an eye on one player in particular. As much clinicism and intent as Juventus were lacking, Teun Koopmeiners had both those qualities in spades. Neither of his goals were easy to score, both came because he decided in a split second how he was going to score them and didn’t deviate or dither for a moment from that mission. If he’d had a few more chances, his team might be now heading for the big table in Europe. As it is, he’s likely to be on his way there anyway.

JUVENTUS: Szczesny 5; Gatti 6, Bremer 6, Danilo 7; Cambiaso 6, McKennie 7, Locatelli 6, Miretti 6, Iling-Jr 6; Milik 6, Chiesa 5 /// Subs: Sandro 6, Yildiz NA, Kean 5, Weah 6, Nicolussi Cavigilia 6

ATALANTA: Carnesecchi 6; Scalvini 7, Djimsiti 7, Hien 6, Palasic 7; Zappacosta 6, Ederson 7, Ruggeri 7; Koopmeiners 8; Scamacca 8, De Ketelaere 7 /// Subs: Toloi 6, Lookman 5, Bakker NA, Hateboer 6, Miranchuk NA

35' - Goal for Atalanta! Brilliantly worked free kick, completely fooling Juventus' defence. It looked like Scamacca was going direct but instead Pasalic picked out a lurking Teun Koopmeiners who lashed it into the Juve goal from the edge of the box.

66' - Goal for Juventus! Chiesa dispossesses Scalvini, and between him and McKennie they work the ball down field. McKennie spots Andrea Cambiaso's run, passes it off to him perfectly as he then finishes like a striker.

70' - Goal for Juventus! The ball comes over to McKennie who chests it into the path of Arkadiusz Milik, the striker levels into the turf and past a flailing, unsighted Carnesecchi.

75' - Goal for Atalanta! Teun Koopmeiners steals a yard on his marker, and ghosts into the box to receive a smart pass from Djimsiti before sticking it away with precision and power. He didn't even look up to shoot.