The missed chance shifted momentum.

Atalanta pushed higher over the next several minutes, and their pressing became more coordinated as players recognized the psychological impact of Fiorentina's failure to finish, and at sixty-four minutes Demien got his clearest look of the match so far.

The sequence started with Lookman winning possession near the touchline, and his cross was headed clear by Milenkovic but only as far as the edge of the box, and when the ball dropped toward Højlund the Danish striker cushioned it backward with his chest.

The cutback arrived at Demien's feet just inside the penalty area, and for a split second he had time and space and options—shoot immediately, take another touch, look for a pass—and Andrea Pirlo's Regista Vision showed him everything simultaneously while the hesitation lasted barely a moment but it was enough.

Amrabat recovered with a desperate lunge, and his outstretched leg blocked Demien's shot before it could leave his foot properly, and the ball deflected harmlessly wide while the stadium exhaled in collective relief.

Commentary Booth

"Oh, Walter will be disappointed with that one," the commentator said immediately. "Had time, had space, just needed to pull the trigger quicker. That's the difference between good and great—elite players don't hesitate there."

Demien jogged back toward his position while frustration flickered across his face for half a second before disappearing behind professional composure, and David Drinkwater's thirty-seven years whispered that dwelling on mistakes was how players compounded them.

Tempers flared shortly after as the match's intensity increased.

At sixty-eight minutes Fiorentina's midfielder Mandragora came in late on Lookman near the touchline, and the challenge was high and aggressive as his studs caught the English winger's shin, and Lookman went down immediately while the referee's whistle blew sharply.

Players from both teams converged on the scene—Fiorentina's defenders protesting the severity, Atalanta's players demanding stronger punishment—and voices rose while bodies pressed closer.

The referee reached for his pocket and pulled out the yellow card, and Mandragora accepted it without argument while his teammates gestured at him to calm down, and the situation threatened to escalate as Højlund said something to a Fiorentina player that drew an aggressive response.

Demien stepped in quickly and grabbed Højlund's shoulder, pulling his teammate away from the confrontation before it developed further, and his voice was calm but firm as he said something brief that made the Danish striker nod and back off.

The cameras barely caught the moment, and commentary didn't mention it, but the leadership was there—small, functional, preventing escalation.

Atalanta equalized in the seventy-second minute, but not through Demien.

The corner came from Malinovskyi after Lookman's shot had been deflected behind, and the delivery bent toward the near post with pace, and bodies jumped in a congested mass while Fiorentina's defenders tried to clear.

The ball was headed out weakly and dropped just outside the six-yard box, and the scramble that followed saw three players challenge for it simultaneously before Tolói got there first, and the center-back's header from close range was powerful and directed downward, and it bounced once before crossing the line.

ATALANTA 1-1 FIORENTINA (72')

The away end exploded with noise that carried across the stadium, and Tolói wheeled away with both arms raised while his teammates mobbed him, and the celebration was controlled but genuine because the equalizer changed everything.

Commentary Booth

"GOAL! Atalanta are level!" the commentator shouted. "Tolói from close range and we have a completely different game now. All the pressure on Fiorentina to respond."

The scoreboard updated and the home crowd's earlier confidence had transformed into nervous energy, and Fiorentina's players reset for the kickoff while their coach gestured urgently from the touchline about maintaining composure.

Fiorentina pushed to respond immediately, and their attacking intent left spaces behind as they committed numbers forward.

Adriano still looked dangerous when he received possession, but Atalanta's defensive shape was sharper now and more compact, and at seventy-six minutes when he tried to turn between two defenders both Koopmeiners and De Roon closed him down simultaneously, and his attempted pass was intercepted before it could reach its target.

Demien dropped deeper to receive at seventy-eight minutes, and when the ball arrived from Tolói he was positioned thirty-five yards from goal with three Fiorentina players drawn toward him, and rather than forcing a pass forward he recycled possession backward to Hateboer before immediately moving again into a different position.

The movement wasn't flashy, but it drew pressure away from where Atalanta wanted to attack, and when the ball circulated back to him ten seconds later the space had opened differently.

The decisive moment came in the eighty-fourth minute.

Fiorentina committed numbers forward as they pushed desperately for the winning goal, and when their corner was cleared by Demiral the ball traveled only as far as the halfway line where it dropped into open space.

Demien was positioned centrally and he reacted first, and his touch controlled the dropping ball cleanly while Mandragora sprinted toward him from ten yards away, and Andrea Pirlo's Regista Vision showed him the entire field opening—Lookman making a run down the right channel, Højlund positioned centrally but marked, Malinovskyi wide left but too far.

But there was another option.

Hateboer had continued his run from deep, bursting through the inside right channel with perfect timing, and the space existed because Fiorentina's left-back had pushed too high and couldn't recover.

Demien took one touch to draw Mandragora's challenge, and the defender committed his weight forward trying to win the ball, and the instant the space opened Mesut Özil's Eye-of-the-Needle activated and showed the passing lane threading between two retreating Fiorentina defenders.

The ball left Demien's foot immediately with his right foot's inside contact, and the weight was perfect—not too hard to outrun Hateboer, not too soft to allow recovery—and it arrived precisely in the Dutch wing-back's path as he burst into the penalty area.

Hateboer's first touch was forward, and his second was the finish—right foot striking cleanly across his body toward the far corner—and Terracciano dove desperately but the placement was perfect, and the ball nestled in the side netting.

ATALANTA 2-1 FIORENTINA (84')

Demien didn't celebrate wildly.

Just a clenched fist, a sharp breath out, and then his teammates were on him—Hateboer arriving first with arms spread wide, Koopmeiners grabbing his shoulders, Højlund pulling him into the celebration near the corner flag.

The away bench erupted as substitutes jumped and coaches embraced, and Gasperini stood on the touchline with his arms crossed, and he nodded once with satisfaction that conveyed approval without excess.

Commentary Booth

"GOAL! And it's Walter who makes it!" the commentator shouted. "The vision, the timing, the execution—that's maturity beyond his years!"

"Look at that pass," his colleague added, and his voice carried genuine appreciation. "One touch to draw the defender, immediate release into the perfect channel. That's not about talent—that's about reading the game, making the adjustment, waiting for the right moment."

The screen showed a replay of the sequence—Demien's control, the single touch drawing pressure, the weighted pass threading through, Hateboer's clinical finish—and the commentary continued.

"Adriano Ventresca had a brilliant performance today, directly involved in Fiorentina's goal, constantly dangerous. But this is the difference—Walter waited for the right moment, made the adjustment Gasperini asked for at halftime, and delivered when it mattered most."

The final minutes became about defending as Fiorentina threw everything forward in desperate search of an equalizer.

Tackles flew in as challenges became more aggressive, and clearances mattered more than possession, and at eighty-eight minutes Milenkovic rose to meet a corner but his header was blocked by Tolói who threw his body in front of it.

The ball dropped loose and Adriano struck it on the half-volley from the edge of the box, and the shot flew toward goal with power, but Musso positioned himself well and caught it cleanly before immediately launching a counter-attack that died when Lookman was judged offside.

Four minutes of added time appeared on the fourth official's board, and Fiorentina pushed higher while Atalanta defended deeper, and the crowd's noise built with each attack that was repelled.

At ninety-two minutes Jović received in the penalty area with his back to goal, and his turn created half a yard of space, but Demiral's challenge was perfectly timed and won the ball cleanly without fouling, and the danger was cleared.

As the final seconds ticked away, Demien glanced at the scoreboard showing 2-1, and then his eyes found Adriano across the pitch.

The Fiorentina wonderkid stood with hands on hips near the center circle, and his expression showed frustration mixed with resignation because he'd played brilliantly without getting the result, and when their eyes met briefly neither acknowledged the other beyond that momentary recognition.

The referee checked his watch one final time and raised the whistle to his lips.

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