Monday 16 May 2016 00:18, UK
Simone Verdi ensured Carpi had to be dragged back into Serie B kicking and screaming as his first-half double clinched a 2-1 victory at Udinese.
On a night when the Bianconeri bid farewell to their 38-year-old striker Antonio Di Natale, who would manage to score one last goal for the club from the penalty spot, Carpi striker Verdi did all he could to keep the second-tier champions in the top flight.
He slotted an early penalty and, after Udinese's Cyril Thereau was dismissed, danced his way into a position to propel the Biancorossi two goals clear.
Unfortunately for the club from a small industrial town in Emilia-Romagna, 17th-placed Palermo got the win they needed to stay up, thus condemning Carpi.
The Sicilians squeezed past plucky Hellas Verona with only the odd goal in five securing their top-flight status.
Franco Vazquez lifted Palermo, who have employed seven different head coaches this season, before the confusion surrounding the double dismissal of Pawel Wszolek and Michel Morganella allowed basement boys Hellas to respond through Federico Viviani.
At that point Palermo were heading towards the drop as Carpi led Udinese, but Enzo Maresca and Alberto Gilardino saved the day for Davide Ballardini's men, rendering Eros Pisano's late goal for Verona a mere consolation in a 3-2 defeat.
Fiorentina finished the season in fifth place after beating Lazio 4-2 on Miroslav Klose's curtain call at the Stadio Olimpico.
Briefly dislodged by surprise package Sassuolo, Fiorentina managed to reclaim their automatic Europa League berth thanks to a Matias Vecino brace and further strikes from Federico Bernardeschi and Cristian Tello.
Senad Lulic had given Lazio the early lead and the last goal of the evening was scored by German veteran Klose, whose second-half penalty was his last significant act in a Bianconeri shirt.
Earlier on Sunday, goals from Massimo Maccarone and Piotr Zielinski boosted Empoli to a 2-1 final-day victory over Torino at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.
The visitors hit back through Joel Obi two minutes after Zielinski converted Maccarone's second-half assist.
Jasmin Kurtic gave Atalanta cause to be optimistic at the end of a mediocre season by firing a late winner at Genoa.
The Slovenia midfielder poked the ball home to make it 2-1 with eight minutes remaining at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, after Leonardo Pavoletti had cancelled out Marco D'Alessandro's opener for Atalanta.
Elsewhere, Chievo and Bologna concluded their respective campaigns by grinding out a disappointing goalless draw in torrential rain in Verona.
