Muriel snatches last-gasp victory for Atalanta at Cagliari

(Reuters) – Substitute Luis Muriel struck in the 90th minute to earn Atalanta a dramatic 1-0 victory at Cagliari in Serie A on Sunday.

The home side came closest to scoring in Sardinia in the first half, with Berat Djimsiti almost putting the ball through his own net early on, the woodwork coming to Atalanta’s rescue.

Serie A’s top scorers Atalanta, who booked a Coppa Italia final date with Juventus by beating Napoli in midweek, struggled in front of goal and looked set for a third league game in a row without a win.

Muriel had other ideas, however, with the substitute arrowing his 13th league goal of the season into the net to move seventh-placed Atalanta up to 40 points, two off the top four.

Cagliari remained 18th on 15 points and are without a league win since early November.

Elsewhere in Serie A on Sunday, 38-year-old striker Fabio Quagliarella’s second-half goal earned Sampdoria a 2-1 win over Fiorentina.

(Reporting by Peter Hall, editing by Ed Osmond)