Fiorentina remain fourth in the Serie A standings after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Livorno at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Giuseppe Rossi - the Viola's leading scorer this season - was guilty of not adding to his 14-goal haul shortly after the half-hour mark.

The Italian combined well with Borja Valero down the left-hand side of the penalty area, but the former Villarreal marksman could only find the side-netting with his effort.

Livorno, who had not beaten their Florence counterparts away from home for 77 years, made good inroads towards ending that run as Ibrahima Mbaye saw his bid to open the scoring denied by the crossbar.

It proved a costly miss as Vincenzo Montella's men then took the lead on 66 minutes, with Gonzalo Rodriguez leaping highest to head home Valero's corner.

Davide Nicola's troops went in search of an equaliser and would have found one if not for the intervention of goalkeeper Neto, who produced a smart save to deny Marco Benassi on 82 minutes.

It was as close as the visitors came to drawing level as the hosts held out for the win.