Pisa’s 88th-minute equalizer was worth far more than one point—it dragged Verona back into the drop zone and proved Atalanta can still be bullied by desperation.
Rafiu Durosinmi’s 88th-minute header at the Arena Garibaldi ended 528 minutes of Serie A goal silence on Pisa’s own patch. The 1-1 draw lifts Giampiero Ventura’s side off the foot of the table and dumps Hellas Verona into 19th with a game in hand still to play.
Atalanta, meanwhile, have now won only once in their last five league outings. Gian Piero Gasperini’s outfit stay seventh, but the gap to fourth-place Bologna has ballooned to six points and Roma lurk one point behind with a Sunday fixture to come.
Context: why Pisa’s drought mattered
Before Friday night, Pisa’s only previous home goal came in Round 3 against Empoli—a Henrik Meister penalty that still ended in defeat. Since then, over 500 scoreless minutes had seen crowds dwindle and anxiety rise. The club’s xG at home (6.4) ranked dead last in the league, per Serie A’s official data, amplifying fears that promotion via last season’s playoffs had arrived a year too early.
The turning point: Krstovic’s ice-cold finish, then chaos
Nikola Krstovic looked to have condemned Pisa when he rifled Ademola Lookman’s mishit clearance into the roof of the net in the 83rd minute. Atalanta shifted to a 5-4-1 shell, inviting pressure. The tactic backfired instantly: Mehdi Léris curled a left-footed cross that evaded Sead Kolasinac and found Durosinmi unmarked at the back stick. The 21-year-old Nigerian’s downward header left Marco Carnesecchi rooted.
It was Pisa’s first headed goal since April 2025 and only their third set-piece strike of the campaign—both metrics previously worst in the league.
Instant table fallout
- Pisa climb to 18th on 14 points, level with Fiorentina and one above Verona.
- Verona, who travel to Milan next, now face a genuine six-pointer against Pisa on Match-day 23.
- Atalanta miss the chance to leapfrog Lazio into fifth; their Champions League cushion is down to a single point.
Gasperini’s growing headache
Atalanta have conceded in eight consecutive away matches—their longest such run since 2020. Gasperini’s trademark man-orientated press looked leggy after Thursday’s Coppa Italia trip to Fiorentina, and the mid-week schedule will only intensify with a Europa League knockout round looming in February. Rotation is overdue, but depth at wing-back (Emerson and Zappacosta both nursing knocks) remains paper thin.
Ventura’s blueprint: can it travel?
The 76-year-old coach abandoned his usual 4-2-3-1 for a compact 3-5-2, crowding Teun Koopmeiners and denying Charles De Ketelaere pocket space between the lines. The tweak yielded 13 interceptions in the middle third—Pisa’s highest home total this term. The question now is replication: Pisa have earned just two points on the road, and upcoming trips to Torino and Bologna could erase Friday’s morale boost if the same aggression doesn’t accompany them.
What’s next
- Pisa visit Torino on 24 January, seeking a first away point since October.
- Atalanta host relegation-threatened Lecce on 25 January before a Europa League playoff against Midtjylland.
- Verona’s Sunday clash with Milan suddenly looms as must-watch—defeat would leave them three points adrift of safety.
One swing of Durosinmi’s neck has compressed an entire relegation battle into a two-week sprint. Keep the fastest, most authoritative analysis flowing—bookmark onlytrustedinfo.com and never miss another decisive twist in Serie A’s survival war.
