Lyon cruise, Montpellier off the mark

French Ligue 1 Saturday results Stade Brest     2 - 1     ES Troyes SC Bastia     0 - 3     St-Etienne Ajaccio AC     2 - 0     Évian

Sunday, September 02, 2012

French Ligue 1 Saturday resultsStade Brest     2 - 1     ES Troyes SC Bastia     0 - 3     St-EtienneAjaccio AC     2 - 0     Évian Toulouse    1 - 1     Stade de ReimsSochaux     1 - 3     Montpellier FC Lorient     3 - 0     AS NancyPARIS - Lyon kept their unbeaten start to the new Ligue 1 campaign going thanks to a 3-2 home win against Valenciennes on Saturday, as champions Montpellier recorded an overdue first victory.Lyon lost France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to Tottenham Hotspur on Friday night, but they went back to the top of the table after coming from behind against Valenciennes at the Stade de Gerland.Lloris took to the pitch to wave goodbye after a four-year spell in which he has emerged as one of the finest goalkeepers on the continent, and he watched on as his successor between the posts gifted the visitors the opener.Long-time back-up Remy Vercoutre, who had made just 40 top-flight appearances in a decade at the club, hesitated at a corner, allowing Brazilian defender Gil to head home.But a Lyon side missing the injured Lisandro Lopez and Yoann Gourcuff as well as Lloris hit back quickly and found themselves in front by the midway point in the first half thanks to a Michel Bastos strike and a penalty from France striker Bafetimbi Gomis.A stunning long-range hit from young playmaker Clement Grenier, who Lyon tried to offload to Nice last month, allowed the hosts to extend their lead midway through the second half before Gregory Pujol pulled another one back towards the end.The win leaves Lyon top with 10 points from four games. "We are enjoying a good start to the season. Our objective was to get to eight points after four games and we have gone beyond that,” said OL coach Remi Garde.