Atalanta playing 'good football' and only missing end product, says Juric

Ivan Juric believes Atalanta are playing good football and only missing the end product after another frustrating goalless draw with Lazio on Sunday.

Despite dominating by all metrics at New Balance Stadium, Atalanta failed to find a decisive goal and were held to their fifth Serie A draw of the season.

Still, La Dea remain the only unbeaten side in the Italian top flight, following Juventus' defeat to Como earlier in the day. 

Atalanta came close on a number of occasions in Bergamo, with Ademola Lookman and Honest Ahanor squandering good chances before Davide Zappacosta struck the woodwork, but they lacked the all-important finishing touch.

But Juric insists he is not worried about his side’s profligacy, choosing instead to focus on their overall positive performances.

"This is a performance where we created lots of chances, there were situations where we could’ve done better and scored goals against a team that defended well," Juric said.

"These dropped points are starting to accumulate now, despite the performances being overall pretty good."

Juric also praised Lookman and Ederson for their efforts, believing their form bodes well for the coming weeks.

"I thought Ademola made the right moves and created a few chances," he said. "We also saw the real Ederson today, and this means we can look to the future with confidence.

"I think the team should continue like this. We have ideas and good football, we are just missing the end product, the goals."

La Dea have now drawn five of their opening seven matches in a top-flight campaign for only the second time in their history, having also achieved the feat in 1977-78.

Juric, though, has become just the second coach in club history to go unbeaten in his first seven league games, after Giovanni Vavassori (eight).

Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri, meanwhile, praised his team's resilience, describing his players as "survivors" after grinding out the draw.

"In the first half we didn’t suffer," Sarri told Sky Sports. "In the second we struggled because several players had just returned. Beyond the spirit, we also showed quality."

Sarri went on to highlight Lazio’s mounting injury problems, which have left him with limited options.

"Right now we’re playing with survivors. Both our lineups and our formation have depended on who was available," he added.

"In Genoa we had seven out, eight against Torino, and today we recovered some players at the last minute. I even struggled to manage the substitutions because I knew some would ask to come off.

"These last three games have been the most difficult to manage in my career, so credit to the boys – two draws and a win in this situation was not guaranteed.

"As a group we're improving in a tough moment. But tactically and technically, we still need to grow."