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Saint-Étienne 1-0 Lille: Mathieu Cafaro's strike secures victory over lethargic Lille

Cafaro's solitary strike earns crucial three points for Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne secured a vital 1-0 victory over Lille at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Saturday afternoon. Mathieu Cafaro's first-half strike proved to be the difference between the two sides as Saint-Étienne moved out of the relegation zone.

Lille's poor form continues

Lille have now lost three of their last four league matches and have failed to score in two of those games. The defending champions have struggled for consistency all season and are now ninth in the table, 15 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Saint-Étienne's resurgence under Puel

Saint-Étienne have won three of their last five league matches under new manager Claude Puel. The Frenchman has brought a new sense of belief to the team and has them playing with more purpose and attacking intent.

Cafaro's moment of brilliance

Cafaro's goal was a moment of brilliance from the young defender. He received the ball on the left flank and drove into the Lille penalty area. He then cut inside and fired a low shot into the bottom corner of the net.

Player ratings

• Saint-Étienne
• Paul Bernardoni – 7
• Mathieu Cafaro – 8
• Saïdou Sow – 7
• Timothée Kolodziejczak – 7
• Yvann Maçon – 7
• Lucas Gourna-Douath – 6
• Mahdi Camara – 6
• Adil Aouchiche – 6
• Romain Hamouma – 7
• Wahbi Khazri – 6
• Jean-Philippe Krasso – 6
• Lille
• Léo Jardim – 6
• Tiago Djaló – 5
• José Fonte – 5
• Sven Botman – 5
• Reinildo Mandava – 5
• Xeka – 5
• Benjamin André – 5
• Jonathan Bamba – 5
• Yusuf Yazıcı – 5
• Burak Yılmaz – 5
• Jonathan David – 5