Livorno have moved out of the Serie A relegation zone with a 2-1 victory against Cagliari at the Stadio Sant'Elia.

Emerson gave the visitors the lead with two minutes of the first half remaining as he fired in from 40 yards out, leaving Vlada Avramov rooted to the spot.

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They added a second nine minutes after the break when Avramov gave away a penalty, and Paulinho made no mistake from the spot.

Cagliari found a way back into the game in the 63rd minute. Nene cut inside from the right and curled a shot past Francesco Bardi and into the top corner.

The home side's hopes of salvaging a point took a blow when Daniele Conti was sent off following a straight red card.

Livorno ended the game with nine men as Federico Ceccherini and Marco Benassi were both dismissed, but they managed to hang on to record a vital victory in their battle against relegation.