Pisa and Verona have officially been relegated from Serie A, while Venezia has secured a return to the Italian elite. Pisa, where Bulgarian defender Rosen Bozhilov (pictured) plays, lost 1:2 at home to Lecce in a match from the 35th round. Thus, the team, which returned to Serie A after a 34-year absence, will part ways with the elite only a season later, BTA reports.
The Bulgarian started as a starter for the second consecutive match and remained on the field until the 81st minute, when he was replaced by Juan Cuadrado.
Lamek Banda opened the scoring for Pisa at the beginning of the second half, but just four minutes later Mehdi Lerris restored parity. The winning goal for Lecce was scored by Walid Khedira in the 65th minute.
With the victory, Lecce climbed to 17th position with 32 points and increased its lead over Cremonese, who remain in the relegation zone. Pisa is in last place with 18 points, and together with Verona there is no chance of avoiding relegation.
Meanwhile, Venezia secured promotion to the Serie A round before the end of the season after a 2-2 draw against Spezia. Bulgarian international Petko Hristov missed the match due to suspension after accumulating yellow cards.
The draw left Venezia at the top of the standings with 79 points, four more than Monza, who lost 2-3 to Mantova. Valentin Antov was in Monza's group, but did not appear in the game.
Frosinone is in second place with 78 points. As only the top two teams earn direct promotion, Venezia officially guarantees a return to Serie A after just one season in the second tier of Italian football.