Cagliari have only themselves to blame for their relegation, unable to beat doomed Venezia, even though Salernitana were thrashed 4-0 at home.
The Sardinians knew they had to win at the Stadio Penzo and hope Salernitana failed to do the same with Udinese, as although their head-to-head record was identical, Cagliari had a far better overall goal difference that gave them the advantage going into the final round.
Henrique Dalbert was out injured, while the already-relegated Lagunari missed Sergio Romero, Tyronne Ebuehi, Marco Modolo, Luca Lezzerini, plus suspended David Okereke, Antonio Vacca and Sofian Kiyine.
Dennis Johnsen’s angled drive flashed wide with the goalkeeper already down, while Dom Peretz blasted over the bar. Charalampos Lykogiannis went off with a muscular issue.
Serie A Liveblog: Milan-Sassuolo, Inter-Samp, Salernitana-Udinese, Venezia-Cagliari
Cagliari started to wake up, also hearing Salernitana were losing 3-0 at home by half-time to Udinese, as a wayward Raoul Bellanova cross nearly squeezed in at the near post, then Niki Maenpaa flapped at a long-range Marko Rog strike.
Bellanova went for goal again with a deflection taking it just over the bar, then forced a desperate save from Manpaa with his header on a Nahitan Nandez cross.
Joao Pedro saw his attempt charged down by Mattia Caldara, while Alessio Cragno had to push an Ales Mateju turn and strike over the bar.
Keita Balde Diao’s header was defected over and on 88 minutes Maenpaa made a stunning reaction save as the Gaston Pereiro effort squirmed through a sea of legs.
Incredibly, Cagliari were unable to get the goal they needed for Serie A safety and are relegated, despite Salernitana losing 4-0 at home to Udinese.
Venezia 0-0 Cagliari