Jamal Thiare steals the ball from the keeper and scores the winning goal for Atlanta United

ATLANTA (AP) — Jamal Thiare stole the ball from the goalkeeper and scored an improbable goal in the final minute of play to propel Atlanta United to a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday night.

In the 97th minute, Atlanta’s Ronald Hernandez’s shot was blocked by Toronto FC’s Shane O’Neill. Toronto goalkeeper Luka Gavran covered the ball and as he prepared to put the ball into play, Thiaré came from behind, collected the ball and fired a right-footed shot into the empty goal to score the winning goal.

Atlanta’s other goal came in first-half stoppage time when Thiago Almada passed to Daniel Ríos, collected a return pass from Ríos, then beat Gavran with a strong right-footed delivery from the left side..

Toronto equalized in the first minute of the second half when Federico Bernardeschi scored with a left-footed shot from the center of the box. He slid his shot past three defenders and beat Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan at the left post.

Guzan finished with three saves for Atlanta (6-8-6) and Gavran made four saves for Toronto (7-11-3), which has lost four straight.

Toronto returns home to host Orlando City on Wednesday. Atlanta United travels to face the New England Revolution on Wednesday.

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