Atalanta edge Fiorentina in thriller to climb back into fourth

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:08 am

Atalanta climbed back into the top four in Serie A as Josip Ilicic's second-half penalty earned his side a thrilling 3-2 victory at Fiorentina on Sunday.

Serie A top goalscorers Atalanta raced into a two-goal lead inside 40 minutes thanks to a double from striker Duvan Zapata with Ruslan Malinovskyi providing both assists.

However, another brace in nine second-half minutes from Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic -- taking the Serb's league goal tally to 15 for the season -- levelled things up.

The drama was not over as Ilicic came off the bench to drill a 70th-minute spot kick down the middle and move his side on to 61 points, one behind Juventus in third and two clear of Napoli in fifth.

Fiorentina remain in 16th place, eight points clear of the relegation zone.