Saint-Étienne vs. Nice

A determined Etienne, who narrowly escaped relegation last season, drew one of the first chances of the game when Dimitri Payet setup Yohan Hautcoeur in the 7th minute only to be thwarted by David Ospina, who again made a fine stop to deny Kevin Mirallas four minutes later.

With Etienne on the flow, Nice needed a lessened wake up call and they responded sharply. A Larrys Mabiala's header hit the post from a corner just before the visitors would draw first blood. Loic Remy’s effort may have been blocked initially but there was little Jeremie Janot could do to stop Mahamane Traore’s rebound strike, which found itself at the top corner of the net.

Etienne would respond only to be denied by inspired defending with Emmanuel Riviere, Mirallas and Bakary Sako all going close to level the scores.

A determined Ospina and a stubborn Nice defence stopped Etienne from even progressing to make a shot on goal.

Nice would then add a second goal with three minutes left on the clock, when Remy would beat Janot with comfort from ten yards out.