FRENCH LIGUE 1 REVIEW
Ligue 1: Lorient down St Etienne to climb fourth
Lorient climbed to fourth in Ligue 1 on Sunday by scoring two early goals to win 2-0 win at strugglers St Etienne.
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Jeremie Janot is powerless to stop Lorient winning.
The Brittany side opened the scoring with a superb free kick from forward Marama Vahirua on four minutes and doubled the advantage 12 minutes later through Argentine defender Franco Sebastian Sosa.
Lorient moved on to 24 points from 13 games, two points behind surprise leaders Auxerre who defeated Monaco 2-0 on Saturday.
Montpellier eased to a 2-0 win over Lille to move up to fifth place in the Ligue 1 standings. Victor Montano struck a second-half brace to seal Montpellier's seventh win of the campaign, a result which leaves the promoted side just two points behind leaders Auxerre in what is a wide-open battle for supremacy in the French top flight.
Montano opened the scoring after 65 minutes and made the game safe three minutes from time at the Stade de la Mosson to secure a first win in four league games for his side and end Lille's recent resurgence.
Loic Remy netted a second-half penalty as Nice edged out Toulouse to leapfrog their mid-table opponents in the Ligue 1 standings.
Remy slotted home in the 51st minute after Toulouse defender Cheikh M'Bengue was harshly adjudged to have handled in the area. Toulouse almost grabbed an equaliser in the final minute but home keeper David Ospina pulled off a stunning save to deny France international Andre-Pierre Gignac.
