BERGAMO: Atalanta were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Torino on Saturday, a result which puts a major dent in the hosts` Serie A title ambitions after Mateo Retegui missed the chance to win the tie from the penalty spot.

Atalanta are third in the standings on 47 points, three adrift of Inter Milan in second. Torino remain 11th on 27 points.

Atalanta dominated the match in the first half while Torino displayed little urgency, before a goal from the hosts spurred them into life.

Atalanta made the breal(through in the 35th minute from a corner kick, where Berat Djimsiti rose above his marker to power a header past the goalkeeper from the edge of the six-yard box, but the lead was short lived.

Torino won a free kick a five minutes later, which Valentino Lazaro floated towards the back post, and Guillermo Maripan got ahead of everyone for a free header from close range to level.

There was little action in the second half. The highlight of the second half was the penalty which the host received with 16 minutes from time to gain the advantage.

Adrien Tameze committed a foul on Retegui.

However, Retegui`s weak effort from the spot was pushed away by goalkeeper Sergio Milinkovic-Savic.

Atalanta, who completed the signing of Daniel Maldini, the son of Italian football icon Paolo Maldini, continued to search for the winner but never really threatened the Torino goal again.

Elsewhere, Bologna, seventh, defeated Como 2-0 while Hellas Verona ended their winless run after registering a narrow 1-0 win over rock-bottom Monza.

-Agencies