Atalanta's hopes of sneaking into the Champions League diminished as it was held by Sassuolo to 1-1 in Serie A on Saturday. Bryan Cristante cancelled out Lorenzo Pellegrini's opener for Sassuolo but the hosts couldn't snatch a winner. Atalanta remained fifth, a point behind fourth-placed Lazio and five behind Napoli, which occupies the last Champions League spot. Lazio hosts Napoli on Sunday, when second-placed Roma visits Bologna. Leader Juventus hosts Chievo Verona later, looking to move nine points clear. Sassuolo took a surprising lead in the first half when Mattia Caldara made a rare mistake and the Atalanta defender was robbed of the ball by Pellegrini, who sprinted forward, rounded goalkeeper Etrit Berisha, and slotted home. Alejandro Gomez scored a hat trick in Atalanta's 5-0 win over Genoa last weekend and he was instrumental in the equalizer in the 73rd, floating in a free kick for Cristante to head into the back of the net. Gomez, who hit the post early, put in another great cross moments after the equalizer but Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli pulled off a good save to deny Alberto Grassi. Caldara almost went from villain to hero but Consigli finger-tipped his effort away. Empoli 1, Pescara 1 Empoli was not safe from relegation after being held by bottom club Pescara. Empoli was 17th, six points above Crotone, which hosts Inter Milan on Sunday. Pescara remained nine points behind Empoli. Palermo was the other team in the bottom three. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
