Nicolo Zaniolo was racing through with only seven minutes remaining. The former Roma attacker, on loan at Atalanta from Turkish giants Galatasaray, was down the right-hand side and in a race with Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu.

Zaniolo fought off the challenge of Kalulu, cut inside and had the option to shoot at goal or pass to an unmarked Mateo Retegui. He opted for the former.

The 25-year-old went for glory, but his shot was easily saved by Juve stopper Michele Di Gregorio, and with it perhaps went Atalanta’s shot of winning the Scudetto.

Three consecutive draws isn’t a disaster for La Dea in the grand scheme of things, but with Napoli and Inter both relentless in the first half of the season, Gian Piero Gasperini’s troops need to win every game.

And that’s what Atalanta had done after a patchy start to the campaign: 11 consecutive wins, a run stretching from early October to late December, brought them roaring back towards the top of the table.

Napoli, Roma and AC Milan were all swept aside during that run, but for a club of Atalanta’s size and resources, it was never going to last. 

The run came to an end in the 1-1 draw with Lazio just after Christmas, and since then two more draws have followed.

The 0-0 away stalemate to Udinese was only the second time this season the club failed to score in a league game, the other being away to champions Inter at the end of August.

Retegui’s absence during those three games was keenly felt. The former Genoa hitman had been out of action after picking up a hamstring injury, and with Ademola Lookman going through a bit of dry patch, Atalanta lacked their usual cutting edge in attack.

Against Juve at a pulsating Gewiss Stadium, the game was fairly tepid in the opening 45 minutes, yet it transformed in the second. 

Kalulu scored the kind of goal any striker worth their salt would be proud of. The Frenchman, who’s arguably been the pick of the signings made by Juve last summer not named Francisco Conceicao, ran the length of the pitch, was played in by Weston McKennie and slid the ball under Marco Carnesecchi.

What Kalulu was doing that far forward we won’t know, but it was a well-worked goal and Juve were in the lead.

Juve’s goal woke Gasperini’s side up, and soon they were banging at the door trying to secure an equaliser. 

Lookman had a chance cleared off the line by none other than Teun Koopmeiners, whom the home fans welcomed back with open arms by unfurling a banner that read: “Koop f*** off.” 

If Kalulu’s goal was worthy of a top striker, so was Retegui’s. The Italy forward pounced to meet Raoul Bellanova’s headed cut-back with a stooping header of his own, with the ball going over Di Gregorio into the roof of the net.

Retegui has been one of the most improved players in Serie A this season, now matching work-rate with goals, and his 13th goal of the season sees him return to the top of the Capocannoniere chart, one ahead of Marcus Thuram. 

Yet the fixture list doesn’t ease up for La Dea with Napoli coming to town this weekend, in a battle between first and third. 

A win against Antonio Conte’s side would put them back in the title race, but the recent setbacks mean Inter are firmly in the driving seat, with the Nerazzurri having two games in hand over their title challengers.

However, the good thing for Gasperini and his men is following the crunch game with the Partenopei, the fixture list eases significantly. Como, Torino, Verona, Cagliari and Empoli all await in the next five games, all of them very winnable, and this could get Atalanta’s title aspirations back on track.

Yet that being said, the resumption of the Champions League will also play a role in Gasperini’s thinking over the next several weeks. Atalanta’s final two games of the expanded group phase are against Sturm Graz and Barcelona. 

A potential four points from both games should be enough to avoid playing a further two games in the round of 32 play-offs, and thus give Gasperini extra days to train his side in February.

Yet La Dea cannot afford any more slip-ups at this stage. Napoli and Inter aren’t in the business of dropping too many points.

Perhaps a true title tilt was always beyond Atalanta. Such has been Gasperini’s work in making the extraordinary seem ordinary we have forgotten that, at the core of it, Atalanta are still a small side, a club that was always known as the ‘queen of the provinces’.

They aren’t out of the title race just yet, but the game against Napoli will give us a truer picture of where they lie going forward. For Serie A’s sake, let’s hope they remain in the race come Saturday night.