Saint-Etienne back on move

Record holders
Les Verts, who have not won anything since securing the last of their record ten French titles in 1981, climbed two spots and are now on 31 points from 18 games. They went 2-0 up through Brazilian forward Araujo Ilan and midfielder Pascal Feindouno when midfielder Christophe Landrin put the icing of the cake with a superb acrobatic volley on 84 minutes.

Lille falter
Saint-Etienne leapfrogged LOSC Lille Métropole, who had gone ten matches without defeat but lost 2-0 at bottom club CS Sedan-Ardennes. Goals by Grégory Pujol and striker Nicolas Marin saw Lille drop a place to fourth, one point behind Saint-Etienne.

Barthez deal
FC Nantes Atlantique announced that former French international goalkeeper Fabien Barthez is set to join them in their bid to escape relegation and their latest result saw them draw 0-0 at home to FC Girondins de Bordeaux, leaving the Nantes one point above Sedan at the foot of the table.

Nancy climb
UEFA Cup challengers AS Nancy-Lorraine climbed two spots up to fifth in Ligue 1 by winning 2-0 against Olympique de Marseille. Midfielder Benjamin Gavanon opened the scoring for home side Nancy with a free-kick just before half-time and Brazilian forward Kim wrapped things up on 71 minutes as Marseille struggled without Franck Ribéry, who missed the game with a groin injury.

Monaco recover
AS Monaco FC continued their recovery from a disastrous start to the season by beating FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 3-0 with goals from Jerko Leko, Jérémy Menez and Yaya Touré to move up three places to 13th. In other results, ES Troyes Aube Champagne drew 1-1 at Stade Rennais FC and Le Mans UC 72 won 2-0 against Toulouse FC. On Sunday, champions and leaders Olympique Lyon visit RC Lens, who lie in second place 14 points back.