Fiorentina qualify for Europa with hard-fought win over Palermo
MILAN --
Fiorentina won 3-2 at Palermo to ensure qualification for the Europa League Sunday after Sampdoria was held 1-1 at Empoli earlier in the penultimate Serie A round of the season.
Marcos Alonso netted the winner 11 minutes from time after Fiorentina had twice been pegged back.
Josip Ilicic, who had been roundly jeered by the Palermo fans, scored a stunning opener against his former club - and even the home fans applauded.
Fiorentina moved back into fifth spot and cannot be caught by seventh-place Sampdoria, who could still qualify for Europe if Genoa fails in its appeal against a decision to deny it a UEFA license.
Parma 2-2 Hellas Verona
Veteran Hellas Verona hitman Luca Toni is well-placed to finish the Serie A season as the league's top scorer after hitting a brace to deny Parma one last home victory before relegation.
First-half goals from Antonio Nocerino and Silvestre Varela set basement boys Parma on a course to appease fans with a rare three-point haul at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, but 37-year-old Toni had other ideas.
He reached the 20-goal mark with a header just before half-time and pulled one goal clear of both Juventus' Carlos Tevez and Mauro Icardi of Inter Milan when making it 2-2 from the penalty spot 10 minutes from time.
Not only would this be the last opportunity to watch top-flight football at the Tardini for some time, Parma still face the prospect of absolute extinction given no one has yet made a successful bid for the bankrupt club.
Empoli 1-1 Sampdoria
Substitute Samuel Eto'o struck a last-gasp equalizer at Empoli on Sunday but it was not enough as Sampdoria's hopes of playing in Europe next season ended following the 1-1 draw.
Manuel Pucciarelli gave Empoli a deserved lead in the 58th minute after team-mate Matias Vecino had been denied by the crossbar in the opening half.
Eto'o pulled Samp level in stoppage time but the visitors could not find the winner.
The result at the Carlo Castellani stadium assured Samp's city rivals Genoa and Fiorentina of a top-six finish in Serie A and qualification to the 2015-16 Europa League.
Samp remain seventh in the standings, four points adrift of sixth-place Fiorentina with one game remaining.
The visitors went into the contest needing a victory to remain in the battle for European football but Sinisa Mihajlovic's men struggled against a determined Empoli.
Empoli, already safe, may have had nothing but pride to play for, but they nevertheless looked keen to end their final home game of the season on a high note.
Udinese 0-1 Sassuolo
Sassuolo defeated 10-man Udinese 1-0 on Sunday afternoon to continue their strong finish to the season.
Francesco Magnanelli struck the only goal of the contest at the Friuli stadium in the 70th minute and Sassuolo held on for their third straight victory.
Udinese had midfielder Guilherme sent off 10 minutes from time for a second yellow card.
The result sees Sassuolo, who beat AC Milan 3-2 in the previous round, rise to 12th in the standings with one game remaining while Udinese are left in 16th place with just two wins in their last 12 league games.
Both sides went into the game having assured themselves of top-flight football for next season.
Chievo 1-1 Atalanta
Chievo remained unbeaten at home since February 2 after finding a late equalizer to draw 1-1 against Atalanta on Sunday afternoon.
The Flying Donkeys trailed 1-0 after Atalanta striker Alejandro Gomez's early second-half strike.
Atalanta looked to be heading for their first away win since January 18, only for Chievo substitute Sergio Pellissier to pull the hosts level two minutes from time.
The result in Verona lifted Chievo into 14th place in Serie A.
Pressure was lifted from Atalanta last weekend when despite losing 4-1 to Genoa, they clinched their top-flight survival when Cagliari fell to Palermo.
Occupying the last position of safety in the standings, Atalanta went in search of a rare away victory but had to do without four suspended players.
Cesena 0-1 Cagliari
A last-gasp winner from substitute Marco Sau lifted Cagliari to a 1-0 victory at Cesena on Sunday in a battle of teams that have already been relegated from Serie A.
With the game goalless in the 90th minute, Sau silenced the home crowd when he got behind Albin Ekdal's pass and drilled a right-footed shot past Cesena goalkeeper Federico Agliardi.
The win, their seventh of the campaign, came a week too late for Cagliari.
The Sardinian outfit lost 1-0 at Palermo in the previous round to bring a halt to its 11-year run in Italy's top flight.
Cesena fell for the ninth time at the Dino Manuzzi stadium, their 21st defeat overall.
Cagliari went into the contest in 18th place and four points clear of Cesena.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
