Atalanta at the Stadio Renzo Barbera on Wednesday evening.
Franco Vazquez opened the scoring in just the second minute after converting from the penalty spot before Marco Borriello responded with a penalty of his own. Gabriel Paletta headed home in the second half to put Atalanta in front before Aljaz Struna atoned for the penalty after stabbing home from close range to rescue a point.
The home side began the game with a sense of purpose and quickly took the lead. A cross came in from the right, and was met at the far post by Ivaylo Chochev. The header was tame but hit the outstretched arm of Gianpaolo Bellini. The referee booked the defender and pointed to the spot, with Vazquez making no mistake, guiding it inside the post.
Just a few minutes later, Atalanta equalized, again from 12 yards. Alejandro Gomez came in from the left and was upended in the box. Borriello stepped up, and calmly sent the keeper the wrong way.
The away side should have taken the lead a quarter of the game in but Cristian Raimondi headed harmlessly over the bar with a free header.
Atalanta came out in the second half looking to control the play and duly took the lead ten minutes after the interval from a set piece. Remo Freuler floated in a delightful ball, with Gabriel Paletta glancing his header inside the far post.
Palermo, clearly desperate to gather points from this game, set about holding possession and implementing quick transition. It paid off in the 76th minute, when Atalanta failed to clear the ball and earlier villain Struna was able to smash home from close range.
The Rosanero had much of the play in the remaining minutes, but other than a well-saved Aleksandar Trajkowski free kick, they created little in the way of clear-cut opportunities.
Roberto Vitiello received a late red card after he was deemed to be the last man, and the home side sealed a much-needed point in their quest against relegation.
The point keeps Palermo in 19th place, two points from safety, whilst Atalanta lie safely in 14th with four games to go for the pair.
