Two second-half goals were enough to give Cagliari a 2-0 win at home to Bologna, pulling the hosts out of the Serie A relegation zone.

Nene broke the deadlock in the 50th minute and Radja Nainggolan doubled his team's lead with 12 minutes remaining. The outcome lifted the Sardinian outfit to 13th in the standings while Bologna dropped to 19th place. Cagliari went into the encounter looking to bounce back from two straight defeats.

The hosts enjoyed a strong start and Davide Biondini was first to test Emiliano Viviano with his effort from outside the penalty area. The Bologna goalkeeper dived to his right to clear the danger. Midway through the first half, Michele Canini should have put the home team in front but his powerful header from Biondini's cross went over the bar. Cagliari missed another good chance to score before half-time. Andrea Cossu's cross found the unmarked Simon Laner inside the box and his header went just wide of the far post.

The hosts took a deserved lead early in the second half. Nene got behind Cossu's cross and he drove the ball in from close range past Viviano. Marco Di Vaio should have levelled the scores on the hour mark but his close-range header from Antonio Busce's cross was off target. Cagliari extended their lead in the 78th minute when Nainggolan's bullet strike from 30 yards beat Viviano.

The visitors almost gave themselves a lifeline a minute from the end but Cagliari goalkeeper Michael Agazzi came up with his first save of the match. A Miguel Britos header from six yards forced Agazzi to fully stretch as Cagliari held on for their second win at the Sant' Elia this season.