Gianfranco Zola won for the first time as Cagliari manager as his side edged to a 2-1 victory over Cesena this afternoon.

The hosts started the game strongly and were awarded a penalty in the 11th minute when Luigi Giorgi brought down Albin Ekdal inside the box.

Joao Pedro stepped up to take the spot kick and, although his effort was saved by Nicola Leali, he reacted quickly to slot the rebound into the net.

Cesena almost levelled the scores two minutes later through Emmanuel Cascione, but his free kick was tipped behind by Zeljko Brkic.

Cagliari then doubled their advantage in the 27th minute as Godfred Donsah latched onto Pedro's pass over the top and crashed a strike past Leali.

At the start of the second half, the visitors almost got on the scoresheet when Franco Brienza fired over the bar from close range.

With a minute of the game left, Brienza bundled in a goal for Cesena from close range, but it was not enough to inspire a comeback as their winless run in Serie A stretched to 17 games.