MILAN: Venezia sacked coach Paolo Zanetti on Wednesday after a run of eight straight defeats left their Serie A survival hopes hanging by a thread. Venezia president Duncan Niederauer said in a club statement youth team coach Andrea Soncin would take charge of the senior side until the end of the season in a bid to maintain their place in Italy’s top flight. Zanetti had guided Venezia to promotion to Serie A for the first time in 19 years last season but his team have struggled for points and are bottom of the table. Venezia are six points behind Cagliari, who sit just outside the relegation zone and travel to Venice on the final day of the campaign. That could be a huge game as head-to-head records decide the placings of teams locked on the same points and their previous encounter in October was a 1-1 draw. Venezia also have a game in hand to play on May 5 at Salernitana, who looked dead and buried earlier this month but have strung together three successive wins to move three points behind Cagliari in 18th. Soncin begins his bid to save Venezia with a daunting trip to Juventus on Sunday.