Montpellier have defeated Brest 2-1 away from home to continue their revival in Ligue 1.

Despite Montpellier's early pressure, it was the home side who made the breakthrough in the 14th minute when Eden Ben Basat fired in from close range.

However, the French champions restored parity just seven minutes later, thanks to an own goal from Johan Martial.

That saw the game open up as both sides began to press on each other, but failed to add to the scoreline before the half-time interval.

Six minutes after the restart Montpellier had a good chance to go 2-1 up when Hilton headed Souleymane Camara's delivery towards goal, but it was kept out by Brest goalkeeper Alexis Thebaux.

However, Thebaux was unable to do much in the 57th minute when John Utaka latched on to Younes Belhanda's through-ball and shot past him from close range.

Montpellier went on to take control of the proceedings at Stade Francis-Le Ble and eventually run out comfortable 2-1 winners.

The victory at Stade Francis-Le Ble sees the defending French champions go seven points clear of the relegation zone.