Saint-Etienne have climbed up to third in Ligue 1 with a 2-0 victory over Troyes at home.
The hosts could have taken the lead in the very first minute had Brandao's left-footed shot from close range been on target.
Troyes were not to be kept quiet, as Fabien Camus attempted to score from the centre of the box but failed to keep his shot on target.
Benjamin Nivet forced St-Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier into making a good save in the 38th minute, and then Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw his shot narrowly miss the target.
St-Etienne eventually broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half when Renaud Cohade latched on to Jonathan Brison's pass to shoot home from close range.
The home side had to wait until the 88th minute to bag the points, though, when Aubameyang found the target from just yards out.
