3 – 1
“Maxime Bernauer breaks the deadlock, converting from a corner after earlier chances for Ballo and Mukiele had gone unrewarded.”
Pivotal“Montpellier level almost immediately through Daylam Meddah's headed finish, assisted by Nordan Mukiele, sending the teams in level at the break.”
Pivotal“Just four minutes after the restart, Augustine Boakye restores Saint-Étienne's lead, finishing off an assist from Tamar Svetlin following a flurry of missed chances from Davitashvili and Csongvai.”
Pivotal“Substitute Joshua Duffus adds a third for Saint-Étienne, finishing off a move assisted by Irvin Cardona shortly after coming on, putting the game out of reach for Montpellier.”
Pivotal
Saint-Étienne
Montpellier
Saint-Étienne came out on top despite being outpassed and out-possessed by a Montpellier side that dominated the ball at 55% and completed more passes with greater accuracy. The hosts made their directness count, though, generating 45 dangerous attacks to Montpellier's 31 and doubling their opponents' shot tally 12-7. The turning point came in a manic five-minute window either side of the break: Bernauer's 41st-minute opener was cancelled out almost instantly by Daylam Meddah's headed equalizer right on the whistle, only for Augustine Boakye to restore the lead just four minutes into the second half. Joshua Duffus, introduced as a substitute, sealed it with a clinical finish in the 71st minute after coming on fresh, capping a match that saw seven changes made across both benches as the pace and shape shifted repeatedly late on. For Saint-Étienne, sitting mid-table, this is a timely response that eases pressure heading into their next fixture, while Montpellier's failure to convert their territorial dominance into points will sting given the number of positions separating the two sides in the table.
Mahmoud Jaber takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Corner awarded.
Noah Vidal-Cartoux comes on for Nicolas Pays.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Nicolas Pays takes a left-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Mamadou Camara comes on for Lacine Megnan-Pave.
On comes Daylam Meddah for Gregory Ayem.
Joao Ferreira comes on for Kevin Pedro.
Jakob Breum Martinsen is on, and Augustine Boakye is off.
Joshua DuffusJoshua Duffus takes a shot with his right foot and scores.
assist: Irvin Cardona
Goal! Joshua Duffus scores to make it 3-1, assisted by Irvin Cardona.
Theo Chennahi is substituted on for Naoufel El Hannach.
On Jeremy Hatchi, off Hichem Abderrebi.
Corner awarded.
Irvin Cardona takes a left-footed shot that hits the post.
Daylam MeddahYellow CardYellow card shown to Daylam Meddah.
Substitution: Mahmoud Jaber comes on for Zurab Davitashvili.
On comes Joshua Duffus, off goes Thierno Ballo.
Nicolas Pays takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Yellow card issued to Naoufel El Hannach.
On comes Ben Old, off goes Maxime Bernauer.
Lacine Megnan-Pave takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Augustine Boakye takes a shot with his left foot, but it is blocked.
Corner awarded.
Augustine BoakyeAugustine Boakye scores with a left-footed shot.
assist: Tamar Svetlin
Goal! Augustine Boakye scores to make it 2-1, assisted by Tamar Svetlin.
Aron Csongvai takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Zurab Davitashvili takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Daylam MeddahShot - Daylam Meddah Head Shot Goal
First half ends with the score at 1-1.
assist: Nordan Mukiele
Goal! Daylam Meddah scores to make it 1-1, assisted by Nordan Mukiele.
Augustine BoakyeYellow CardYellow card issued to Augustine Boakye.
Maxime BernauerMaxime Bernauer scores with a right-footed shot.
assist: Irvin Cardona
Goal! Maxime Bernauer scores to make it 1-0, assisted by Irvin Cardona.
Corner awarded.
Nordan Mukiele takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Thierno Ballo takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Corner awarded.
Irvin Cardona has a shot, but it's blocked.
Shot - Irvin Cardona Head Shot Missed
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Augustine Boakye takes a left-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Kick-off! The referee is Ahmed Taleb.
How entertaining was this match?
League leaders Saint-Étienne bring a flawless four-from-four record into this early-season showdown against a Montpellier side that just stumbled to a goalless draw with Boulogne. With Les Verts riding a wave of momentum and Montpellier searching for consistency, Geoffroy-Guichard could see the gap at the top stretch even further.
