Lille registered their first victory of the Ligue 1 season tonight by beating newly-promoted Gazelec Ajaccio 1-0 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

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The hosts, who drew two and lost one of their first three games, scoring none along the way, should have moved ahead on 14 minutes when Ronny headed wide from a good position.

Shortly after, Djibril Sidibe bid to score Lille's first of the season but Clement Maury tipped away his stinging drive in the nick of time.

The pressure proved to be a sign of things to come, as Sofiane Boufal - who set up the first two chances - showed his teammates how it was done by drilling past Maury from the middle of the box on 23 minutes.

The visitors - who remain bottom of Ligue 1 with zero points - sprung to life suddenly and Roderic Filippi and Jacques Zoua both threatened in quick succession but Lille held on for a half-time lead.

It took the best part of 20 minutes for either team to threaten after the break, and it was the home side as Boufal's angled effort was comfortably saved by Maury.

Ajaccio registered a multitude of efforts from outside the box that seldom threatened goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who was alert to preserve the lead in timely fashion when Pablo Martinez raced through in the dying minutes.