Atalanta 1-0 Juventus: Andrea Pirlo’s side crash to a defeat after Malinovskiy’s late winner

Juventus were beaten 1-0 by Atalanta in the Italian Serie A earlier today.

The defeat tonight will come as a major blow for the Italian side who are hoping to finish in the top four this season.

Juventus have had a disappointing season and they are already out of the title race. Missing out on Champions League football next season could be catastrophic for them in terms of revenue and prestige.

Both sides started the game brightly but they were lacking a clinical edge in the final third. The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo due to an injury did not help Juventus’ cause.

The Italian giants struggled to get a shot on target in the opening half despite impressive linkup play between Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado.

The likes of Robin Gosens and Luis Muriel were quite impressive for Atalanta as well but neither side managed to create a clear cut opportunity in the opening 45 minutes.

Atalanta 1-0 Juventus: Andrea Pirlo's side crash to a defeat after Malinovskiy's late winner European Leagues Serie A

Juventus managed to work the opposition keeper in the second half but the quality of chances created was quite mediocre.

The injury to Federico Chiesa just before the hour mark was a hammer blow to Juventus’ attacking quality.

The decision to replace an in-form attacker with a defender in Danilo made no sense when Juventus were chasing the game.

With both teams seemingly set to cancel each other out, Atalanta managed to get the breakthrough in the last five minutes of the match.

Szczesny produced an impressive save from a free-kick but the defenders were clumsy with their clearance and Malinovskiy made the most of the chaos in the Juventus box and found the net thanks to a deflection.

Atalanta are now up to third in the table ahead of Juventus and the likes of Napoli and Lazio are now breathing down Juventus’s necks.

It will be interesting to see if the Italian champions can finish the season strongly and secure Champions League qualification for the next season. They are in need of a major rebuild this summer and they cannot hope to sign quality players without the attraction of Champions League football.

Juventus were badly missing flair and creativity in the final third tonight and they will have to bring in quality attackers this summer.