NAPLES (AFP) – Sampdoria slid into Italy’s Serie B on Monday as they lost 2-0 away to Udinese while Empoli held their nerve to beat Salernitana 2-1 to pull away from the relegation zone.
Sampdoria are last in Serie A on just 17 points, 13 from safety with four games left.
Roberto Pereyra put the hosts ahead after nine minutes running onto a pass by Festy Ebosele and clipping the ball over the diving Nicola Ravaglia.
Adam Masina scored the second with a header from the penalty spot after 34 minutes.
Empoli meanwhile pulled 11 points clear of danger and leapfrogged the team they beat, Salernitana. Nicolo Cambiaghi put them ahead with a diving header after 37 minutes.
Francesco Caputo added a second in the 63rd minute.
Finding himself alone in front of goal following a corner, he stepped round goalie Guillermo Ochoa and smacked the ball into the empty net. Substitute Krzysztof Piatek pounced on a rebound in the 86th minute to give the visitors hope.
But the nearest either team came to scoring in the dying minutes was a ferocious strike by Empoli’s Marco Pjaca, disallowed after a video review because team-mate Razvan Marin was offside.
Sampdoria meanwhile dropped out of Serie A after 11 years following a disastrous season, on and off the field.
