Retegui gets Atalanta back to winning ways in Serie A at Como

Mateo Retegui kept Atalanta's Serie A title bid alive with a brace in Saturday's 2-1 win at Como but remain seven points adrift of Napoli after the leaders' victory by the same scoreline against Juventus.

Italy striker Retegui pounced in the 56th and 70th minutes at a soaking Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia to take his league tally to 16 goals and give third-placed Atalanta their first win in Italy's top flight in 2025.

The 25-year-old has scored five times in four games in all competitions since returning from a hamstring injury earlier this month, and his hot form is great news for Atalanta ahead of their trip to Barcelona.

Atalanta travel to Catalonia gunning for a place in the top eight of the Champions League and automatic qualification for the last 16, after thumping Sturm Graz on Tuesday.

Gian Piero Gasperini's side had to battle to victory at Como who deservedly led at the break through Nico Paz's fantastic first-time strike but remain three points above the relegation zone in 13th place.

"It's not easy to play so many matches so close together... we were slow in the first half but we were much better after half-time," said Gasperini to DAZN.

Como will find it hard to pick up points between now and March. Their next five fixtures are against Bologna, Juventus, Fiorentina, Napoli and Roma.

"You need to remember that we're Como, we're a newly-promoted team but we're giving a lot of big teams hard games," said cach Cesc Fabregas.

The away side also had strikes from Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere ruled out for offside and handball, which made for a nervy final few minutes as Como pushed unsuccessfully for a leveller.