Reeling from their Supercoppa Italiana exit to Inter Milan, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men arrived in Udine aiming to keep pace with league leaders Napoli.
However, a sluggish start allowed Udinese, desperate to end their four-match home winless streak, to grow into the contest with intent, as Jaka Bijol’s header forced Marco Carnesecchi into a brilliant point-blank save just past the half-hour mark.
Soon, drama unfolded on the verge of half-time as Udinese came painfully close to finding the back of the net three times in quick succession – Alexis Sanchez rattled the woodwork twice before Carnesecchi showcased incredible reflexes to deny Sandi Lovric’s rebound header.
Gasperini’s introduction of Nicolo Zaniolo and Lazar Samardzic on the hour mark injected much-needed energy into Atalanta’s attack, determined to avoid their first scoreless league outing in over five months.
But Kosta Runjaic countered swiftly, deploying Arthur Atta and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp to neutralise La Dea’s resurgence. Despite the presence of fresh faces, neither side found the decisive breakthrough, ultimately settling for a point apiece – a sixth draw in their last 15 league meetings.
The draw is a setback in Atalanta’s quest for a first-ever Scudetto, as they now trail Napoli by two points at the top of the table. However, Gasperini will be relieved to take back one point back to Bergamo - extending their unbeaten Serie A streak to 14 games.
Meanwhile, Udinese will rue for not having put La Dea to the sword, with Runjaić’s men now winless since beating Fiorentina before Christmas.