Montpellier continues good form with win at Saint-Etienne

By AP
Published

PARIS (AP) Montpellier continued its good form against the leading teams with a gritty 1-0 win at Saint-Etienne on Friday.

Saint-Etienne was in third place before the game, but failed to create enough chances against a resilient Montpellier side that scored from its first good chance through Isaac Mbenza in the 22nd minute. The Belgian forward profited from a defensive mix-up to stroke the ball in from close range.

Montpellier drew against defending champion Monaco and runner-up Paris Saint-Germain and comfortably beat Nice - the top three from last season - before facing Saint-Etienne.

Montpellier, which has conceded only one goal in five games, climbed up to eighth place ahead of this weekend's matches.

League leader Paris Saint-Germain travels to play bitter rival Marseille on Sunday night.

Unbeaten PSG is six points clear of defending champion Monaco, which hosts Caen on Saturday.