Simone Verdi ensured Carpi had to be dragged back into Serie B kicking and screaming as his first-half brace clinched a 2-1 victory at Udinese.
On a night when the Bianconeri bid farewell to their 38-year-old striker Antonio Di Natale, who would manage to score one last goal for the club from the penalty spot, Carpi striker Verdi did all he could to keep the second-tier champions in the top flight.
He slotted an early penalty and, after Udinese's Cyril Thereau was dismissed, danced his way into a position to propel the Biancorossi two goals clear.
Unfortunately for the club from a small industrial town in Emilia-Romagna, 17th-placed Palermo got the win they needed to stay up, thus condemning Carpi.
After surviving an early scare when Bruno Fernandes went close, a Carpi raid in the 35th minute saw Felipe foul Kevin Lasagna to concede a penalty.
Verdi was composed as he converted - Thereau was not, however, and saw red for aggressively protesting the awarding of the spot-kick.
Udinese suffered a further blow when Carpi doubled their advantage thanks to a piece of individual magic from on-loan AC Milan forward Verdi.
Receiving the ball on the edge of the area, he raced to the by-line before switching feet to baffle goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis and leave an easy finish.
Carpi found chances harder to come by following the break, with Verdi missing a shot at the hat-trick after bursting into the box from the left.
The home fans had spent most of the match chanting Di Natale's name - after 12 years of service the veteran striker will leave Friuli in the summer - and in the 78th minute they got their wish.
Then, barely 60 seconds after his introduction, Udinese won a penalty. The obvious candidate to take it stepped up, fatefully scoring his 227th goal for the Bianconeri with a cool strike straight down the middle.
ends
Italian Serie A Standings
POS | Team | GP | GD | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Internazionale | 25 | +37 | 59 |
2 | AC Milan | 26 | +20 | 56 |
3 | Juventus | 25 | +30 | 52 |
4 | AS Roma | 26 | +13 | 50 |
5 | Atalanta | 25 | +28 | 49 |
6 | Napoli | 25 | +26 | 47 |
7 | Lazio | 25 | +4 | 43 |
8 | Hellas Verona | 26 | +5 | 38 |
9 | Sassuolo | 25 | +1 | 36 |
10 | Sampdoria | 26 | -3 | 32 |
11 | Udinese | 26 | -5 | 32 |
12 | Bologna | 26 | -8 | 28 |
13 | Genoa | 26 | -11 | 27 |
14 | Fiorentina | 26 | -12 | 26 |
15 | Spezia | 26 | -14 | 26 |
16 | Benevento | 26 | -22 | 26 |
17 | Cagliari | 26 | -14 | 22 |
18 | Torino | 24 | -10 | 20 |
19 | Parma | 26 | -29 | 16 |
20 | Crotone | 26 | -36 | 15 |
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