Muriel brace puts Atalanta back on winning track in Serie A

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:13 am

Luis Muriel scored twice in the first half to give Atalanta a 2-1 victory at Crotone on Saturday and put them back on a winning path in Serie A after losing their previous two games.

Atalanta, who went second with 12 points from six matches, dominated the game but made life hard for themselves by wasting too many chances against their lowly opponents.

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Muriel missed two openings before he put Atalanta ahead in the 26th minute with a shot on the turn from Ruslan Malinovskyi's pass.

Alejandro Gomez and Muriel saw further chances go begging before the Colombian struck again in the 38th minute, squeezing his shot in at the near post after Remo Freuler won possession and laid the ball off.

Luis Muriel scores his second for Atalanta against Crotone.
Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images

Crotone, bottom-of-the-table with one point, replied two minutes later when Simy scored from narrow angle.

Duvan Zapata was the main culprit as Atalanta failed to add to their lead in the second half, missing three chances in quick succession.