Verona beats Spezia in Serie A relegation playoff, Ranieri's Cagliari promoted

MILAN — Hellas Verona will continue to play in the Italian top flight next season after it beat Spezia 3-1 in a relegation playoff on Sunday, sending its opponent down to Serie B.

Cyril Ngonge scored twice to help Verona secure its Serie A status. Spezia had a chance to get back into the match midway through the second period after Verona defender Marco Davide Faraoni was sent off but M’Bala Nzola saw his penalty saved.

Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari will be one of the teams that replaces Spezia in Serie A after it beat Bari in a promotion playoff.

Both Verona and Spezia finished the regular season level on points, on either side of the relegation zone. Under new rules there was a playoff to decide who would join last-place Sampdoria and Cremonese in being relegated.

If the rules hadn’t been changed, Spezia would have stayed up as it had the better head-to-head record.

It was the first relegation playoff since 2005, when Parma beat Bologna over two legs.

This was a one-off match in Reggio Emilia. Verona got off to the perfect start with less than five minutes on the clock when Darko Lazović whipped in a cross from the left for an unmarked Faraoni to fire in, with the aid of a deflection from Spezia defender Ethan Ampadu.

Ampadu went from villain to hero just 10 minutes later with a powerful 20-yard strike that took a double deflection before going into the top left corner.

It was the on-loan Chelsea player’s first senior goal.

Verona restored its advantage in the 26th minute when Ngonge played a one-two with Milan Đurić before slotting into the back of the net.

Ngonge had only scored three goals all season but he doubled his tally 12 minutes later when he ran from inside his own half, took on Ampadu, and then fired into the bottom near corner.

Spezia should have got back into the match in the 68th. Faraoni was shown a straight red card for clearing a shot off the line with his hand, preventing a certain goal. But it proved to be worth the punishment as Lorenzo Montipò saved Nzola’s weak penalty.

Ampadu also hit the crossbar late on.

RANIERI'S TEARS OF JOY

Ranieri was seen crying on the field as he celebrated with his players after Cagliari snatched a late 1-0 win against Bari to earn promotion back to Serie A with a 2-1 aggregate score.

Ranieri had only joined Cagliari at the end of December, with the Sardinian team 14th in Serie B.

It is Ranieri’s second spell at Cagliari -- more than 30 years after his first, when he led it to back-to back promotions from the third division to Serie A.

Substitute Leonardo Pavoletti came off the bench in the 89th minute and volleyed in the winner in stoppage time to wreck Bari’s hopes.

Bari had been on the verge of ending a 12-year absence from Serie A as a late goal of its own had seen it snatch a 1-1 draw in the first leg and, as it finished the season higher up the table, it would have been promoted if the score was tied on aggregate.

Serie B champion Frosinone and runner-up Genoa were the other teams that were promoted.