Diego Perotti burst into tears at the final whistle and his teammates had to console him after the goalkeeper saved his penalty and Salernitana, threatened by relegation, drew 1-1 with Empoli in Serie A on Saturday.
Salernitana stayed two points above the relegation zone but missed the opportunity to gain more ground ahead of the Cagliari-Genoa game on Sunday. Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made several notable saves, including the penalty, although he was somewhat to blame for Federico Bonazzoli’s equalizer after Patrick Cutrone put Empoli ahead. With this result, bottom side Venezia went to Serie B, regardless of the result they get later as a visitor against Roma. Salernitana desperately sought the points at Empoli after Cagliari equalized in stoppage time last weekend. He had the best chances early on, with defender Fabiano Parisi clearing a goal-line ball shortly before Vicario deflected another into the net. But it was Empoli who took the lead when Cutrone received a through pass from Kristjan Asllani and hit the near post, Vicario continuing to save Empoli, including making two masterful saves against Bonazzola and Milan Durik. But Vicario himself made a mistake in the 76th minute when he dropped the ball from a corner kick and this time Bonazzoli did not spare. Salernitana had a chance to go ahead six minutes from time when Simone Romagnoli fouled Mamadou Coulibaly and the penalty was awarded. But Vicario deflected Perotti’s shot. Spezia secured a place in Serie A for next season by beating Udinese 3-2 and moving seven points clear of the relegation zone. Torino beat Hellas Verona 1-0 with Josip Brekalo scoring in the first half. One date left after this weekend.