Montpellier 1-0 Lille

Montpellier remain top of Ligue 1 by three points after beating Lille 1-0 on Sunday.

It was the home side who started the better and they might have taken the lead after just a minute when Olivier Giroud struck from distance, but it just drifted wide.

Montpellier again came close with an effort from Henri Bedimo after five minutes, but his effort just drifted past the post.

The home side continued to threaten as the half developed and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa headed just wide with 16 minutes on the clock.

Lille had to wait until the 24th minute for their first real chance, when Dimitri Payet struck wide from distance.

Eden Hazard began to affect the game for Lille in the latter stages of the half, and he had a shot blocked after 33 minutes.

Giroud so nearly sent the home side into the lead moments into the second period, but his header was pushed away by Michael Landreau.

Chances continued to fall for both sides as the half advanced, with Giroud testing Landreau, while Benoit Pedretti fired just wide for the away side after 71 minutes.

John Utaka might have won it for the home side late on, but his effort after 75 minutes drifted high of the crossbar.

Montpellier won it late on, however, as Karim Ait-Fana struck from the middle of the box following good work from Giroud.