PARIS: Montpellier continued their good form against the leading teams with a gritty 1-0 win at St Etienne on Friday.

St 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 champions Monaco and runners-up Paris St Germain and comfortably beat Nice the top three from last season before facing St Etienne.

Montpellier, who have conceded only one goal in five games, climbed up to eighth place ahead of this weekend’s matches.

League leaders PSG travel to play bitter rivals Marseille on Sunday night.

Unbeaten PSG are six points clear of defending champions Monaco.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2017