Late penalty for Torino scuppers Venezia hopes of escaping Serie A drop zone

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TURIN, Italy (AP) — Kike Pérez's first Serie A goal was not enough to lift Venezia out of the relegation zone after Torino scored late to secure a 1-1 draw at home on Friday.

Visiting Venezia had already seen an early goal disallowed for offside when Pérez put them ahead after 35 minutes, squeezing between two defenders and angling home a low right-foot shot.

However, Nikola Vlašić converted a 77th-minute penalty to give the home side a share of the points.

The result was harsh for Venezia, for which a first away win since February 2022 would have lifted it out of the bottom three.

Instead, it remained third from bottom, one point above Empoli and a point behind Lecce, both of whom have a game in hand.

The bottom three go down, with last-placed Monza almost certain to drop.

Torino was in 10th.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer