Skip to content

Livorno earn promotion

Image: Diamanti: Influential performance

Livorno are back in Serie A after a one-year absence thanks to a 5-2 aggregate win in the play-off final.

Brescia fall to heavy play-off defeat

Livorno have returned to Serie A after a one-year absence by beating Brescia in the Serie B play-off final. Francesco Tavano, Alessandro Diamanti and Martin Bergvold all scored in a 3-0 victory that secured a 5-2 aggregate win for Gennaro Ruotolo's men. Tavano nodded in Diamanti's cross five minutes after half-time to open the scoring on the night. Diamanti then got himself on the scoresheet 10 minutes later with a right-foot volley before Bergvold wrapped thing up by applying the finish to a counter-attack. Tensions boiled over in the closing stages as Brescia forward Andrea Caracciolo and Livorno substitute Fabio Galante were both shown red cards. The victory, added to a 2-2 draw in Brescia last Sunday, was more than enough to secure promotion alongside Parma and Serie B champions Bari. Livorno finished the 2007/2008 campaign bottom of Serie A but make an immediate return via the play-offs after a third place finish in Italy's second tier.