Roma, Jan 17 (IANS): Inter Milan saw their winning streak in Serie A end after a goalless draw with Atalanta, with Samir Handanovic making a string of result-saving saves.
Inter were in fearsome form as they had claimed eight consecutive wins in the league and were fresh from a Supercoppa win over Juventus last week. The Nerazzurri entered Sunday night's game with a relatively full squad to choose from, while La Dea missed several key players including Duvan Zapata and Josip Ilicic.
Atalanta had more ball possession in the first half, but Inter were close to breaking the deadlock as Alexis Sanchez who scored the last-gasp winner in Supercoppa forced a one-handed save out of Juan Musso.
After the restart, Atalanta created a series of chances, but Handanovic performed well to keep the scoreline down as he used his leg to shield Matteo Pessina's strike, before getting down quickly to deny Luis Muriel's solo run, Xinhua reports. With a game in hand, Inter now lead the table with 50 points, two ahead of AC Milan who host Spezia on Monday.
Roma's new arrival Sergio Oliveira made seamless adaption to his new club, as the Porto loanee converted a penalty created by himself in his debut, helping the Giallorossi beat Cagliari 1-0 on home turf.
Also on Sunday, Hellas Verona sailed away with a 4-2 victory over Sassuolo, while Venezia shared the spoils with Empoli at 1-1.