Luis Muriel scored twice to help Atalanta get back on track in Serie A with a 2-1 win at newly promoted Crotone on Saturday.
Muriel netted both goals in the first half before Simy pulled one back for the hosts five minutes from the break.
Atalanta moved into second spot, one point below early leader AC Milan which visits Udinese on Sunday.
Atalanta's Muriel, left, celebrates with teammate Papu Gomez after scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Crotone and Atalanta, in Crotone's Ezio Scida stadium, southern Italy, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. (Francesco MazzitelloLaPresse via AP)
Inter can move level with Milan if it beats Parma later. Bologna was also playing later, against Cagliari.
Crotone remained bottom of the league with just one point — from a 1-1 draw against Juventus.
Atalanta came into the match on the back of two straight defeats in Serie A but looking to build off its comeback draw with Ajax in the Champions League, as well as hoping to boost its confidence ahead of hosting Liverpool on Tuesday.
Atalanta's Muriel, center right, celebrates with teammates after scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Crotone and Atalanta, in Crotone's Ezio Scida stadium, southern Italy, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. (Francesco MazzitelloLaPresse via AP)
Muriel had two good opportunities before he put Atalanta ahead in the 26th minute, gathering a ball from Ruslan Malinovskiy with his back to goal and spinning to drill it into the bottom corner.
The Colombia forward forced Crotone goalkeeper Alex Cordaz into another good save before doubling his tally in the 38th after being set up by Remo Freuler.
Crotone pulled one back just two minutes later when Simy beat Marco Sportiello from a tight angle.
Atalanta's Gabriel Romero, left, vies for the ball with Crotone's Simy during a Serie A soccer match between Crotone and Atalanta, in Crotone's Ezio Scida stadium, southern Italy, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. (Francesco MazzitelloLaPresse via AP)
Atalanta's Duván Zapata, who has scored four goals in his last three matches, had two late chances but sent both narrowly wide.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Federico Bernardeschi scored against his former club as Juventus beat Fiorentina 2-0 on Wednesday to set up an Italian Cup final against Inter Milan.
After Fiorentina goalkeeper Bartłomiej Drągowski failed to intercept a cross, Bernardeschi controlled the ball with his chest then volleyed in shortly after the half-hour mark.
Danilo sealed it in stoppage time after being set up by Juan Cuadrado.
Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt, left, and Fiorentina's Nicolas Gonzalez battle for the ball during the Italian Cup semifinal soccer match between Juventus and ACF Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Marco AlpozziLaPresse via AP)
Aiming to defend its title, Juventus advanced on 3-0 aggregate.
Defending Serie A champion Inter beat city rival AC Milan 3-0 on Tuesday to advance.
Juventus has won the Italian Cup a record 14 times, while Inter has seven trophies in the competition — the last from 2011.
Juventus' Adrien Rabiot, right, and Fiorentina's Jonathan Ikone battle for the ball during the Italian Cup semifinal soccer match between Juventus and ACF Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Marco AlpozziLaPresse via AP)
The final is scheduled for May 11.
Juventus also had a goal from Adrien Rabiot wiped off for offside following a VAR check.
SALERNITANA SUCCESS
An injury-time winner earned Salernitana a 1-0 win at Udinese in Serie A, keeping the southern club’s hopes of avoiding relegation alive.
Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, left, and Fiorentina's Alfred Duncan battle for the ball during the Italian Cup semifinal soccer match between Juventus and ACF Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Marco AlpozziLaPresse via AP)
Having won at Sampdoria on Saturday, it marked the first time this season that Salernitana posted consecutive victories.
Substitute Simone Verdi finished off a counterattack three minutes into stoppage time.
The bottom three clubs — Venezia, Salernitana and Genoa — are now level on points, each six points from safety.
Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt, left, and Fiorentina's Arthur Cabral battle for the ball during the Italian Cup semifinal soccer match between Juventus and ACF Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Marco AlpozziLaPresse via AP)
The match was postponed four months ago amid a coronavirus outbreak within Salernitana’s squad.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
