St-Etienne sail to Ligue 1 summit
Saturday, September 18, 2010
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AS Saint-Etienne beat Montpellier Hérault SC 3-0 to go top for the first time in 28 years, and there was joy for Olympique de Marseille too as they prevailed 3-0 at AC Arles-Avignon.
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AS Saint-Etienne are enjoying the view from the top of the Ligue 1 table for the first time in 28 years after overcoming Montpellier Hérault SC 3-0, while champions Olympique de Marseille ran out 3-0 winners at AC Arles-Avignon.
St-Etienne took advantage of Toulouse FC's 0-0 draw at AS Monaco FC to move clear on goals scored thanks to another productive evening for Dimitri Payet. The 23-year-old registered either side of an Emmanuel Rivière effort to take his tally to six strikes from six outings and put Les Verts top for the first time since 20 February 1982.
The leaders stand five points ahead of Marseille, who bounced back from their midweek UEFA Champions League loss to FC Spartak Moskva by prevailing at bottom side Arles-Avignon. Benoît Cheyrou opened the scoring and André Ayew added two more against the team with whom he spent last season on loan.
The biggest win of the day belonged to FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, who downed OGC Nice 4-0, while promoted SM Caen climbed to fourth via a 1-0 victory at FC Lorient. The meeting between northern neighbours Valenciennes FC and RC Lens ended 1-1.