Kairat were led by interim manager Zhora Arutyunyan after surrendering their domestic league title at the weekend, and despite a confident start, they had to survive a couple of early scares in Lombardy.
First, Jonathan Rowe cut in from the left and forced a good save from Temirlan Anarbekov, before Damir Kasabulat’s errant backpass came agonisingly close to nestling in his own bottom corner.
Rowe was proving to be La Dea’s most dangerous attacking outlet in the first half, but he was denied a first goal for Atalanta by a stunning Anarbekov save, as the keeper leapt to his left to keep out the Englishman’s strike from the edge of the area.
For all of their promise before the break, the visitors only really threatened Marco Carnesecchi’s goal twice in quick succession around the half-hour mark.
A poor Atalanta clearance fell to Aleksandr Mrynskiy, whose powerful strike forced a good save from La Dea’s goalkeeper, before Gustavo Mendonca’s follow-up was more easily held.
Kairat then breathed a collective sigh of relief as their defence was opened up by an incisive one-touch move from the hosts, but after setting the sequence in motion, Mario Pasalic wastefully directed wide of the near post to ensure parity remained at half-time.
The introduction of Ederson ahead of the restart did little to energise the hosts, and they were duly punished by a scintillating Kairat counter-attack which saw Edmilson release Marc Gual, who had the pace to accelerate clear and finish beyond Carnesecchi.
The home crowd was silenced, but with six of the visitors’ previous seven games in the main draw of this competition seeing both teams score, Atalanta were far from out of the contest. Yet the substitution of the dangerous Rowe after falling behind did little to raise spirits inside the New Balance Arena, while Gianluca Scamacca was jeered by the home fans when he was hauled off after the hour mark.
Pressure on the Kairat goal was far from unrelenting as the closing stages approached, though Ederson forced Anarbekov into a smart save at his near post.
However, an error from the visitors’ goalkeeper gifted La Dea an equaliser, as he flapped at a corner which allowed Nikola Krstovic to turn home from Relja Obric’s cutback.
That helped Atalanta avoid defeat for just the third time in their last nine major European competition matches, though their winless run reaching six matches overall means pressure on the shoulders of manager Maurizio Sarri remains intense.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Relja Obric (Atalanta)