MILAN ( Associated Press) — Cagliari defender Giorgio Altare may have saved his side from relegation with his first goal in Serie A.
Altare took a corner lead in the ninth-minute stoppage time and saved fellow struggler Salernitana a 1-1 draw on Sunday in a match that was full of late drama.
It looked like Salernitana was heading for a fifth win in their last six games. – and against a direct opponent for Serie A survival – after Simone Vardy’s second-half penalty.
Salernitana, who were at the bottom of the league for almost the entire season, remained one point clear of Cagliari and the bottom three. There are still two rounds left.
A late goal saved Venezia for at least another week. Venezia were five points behind Salernitana after beating Bologna 4-3 and ending 10 straight losses and registering their first win since February.
Attention now turns to the top of the table, with AC Milan looking to move up from league leader Inter Milan with results in Hellas Verona.
The match in Salerno was important for both the teams. Cagliari replaced Salernitana in the bottom three after David Nicola’s side beat Venezia 2-1 on Thursday.
Salernitana eventually broke the deadlock in the 68th minute when Verdi struck a powerful penalty in the bottom left corner after Cagliari defender Matteo Lovato’s deflected Grigoris Kastanos.
Cagliari leveled after about eight minutes but Alberto Grassi’s fierce effort went off the top of the left post.
Cagliari thought he was given a great opportunity to equalize deep in stoppage time when he was awarded a penalty after Salernitana goalkeeper Luigi Sepp diddge Daniil Baselli. After reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor, referee Marco Di Bello overturned his decision, believing that a foul had occurred sometime earlier on Sepp.
However, Cagliari equalized with a bullet header from Altare, which was too powerful for Sepp to hold out.
european battle
Atalanta boosted their chances of qualifying for Europe with a 3–1 win over lowly Spezia, who were still not safe from relegation.
Berat Gimci restored Atalanta’s lead in their first Serie A goal of the season in the 73rd minute after Daniel Verde canceled Luis Muriel’s opener in the first half.
Muriel also helped seal the match as he pitched the ball three minutes ahead of time for Mario Pasalic.
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