Ligue 2 BKT: Saint-Étienne bounce back in style with 6-0 demolition of Pau
Three days after a heavy 4-0 defeat at Annecy, AS Saint-Étienne rediscovered their bite, dismantling Pau (6-0) in front of a jubilant Geoffroy-Guichard crowd. Eirik Horneland’s side looked transformed - much sharper in the duels, more vertical in attack, and clinical in front of goal. It was a win which could reset a frustrating start to the season for Les Verts.
João Ferreira (2’), Irvin Cardona (11’), Florian Tardieu (35’ pen), and Joshua Duffus (44’, 48’) powered the Verts to a four-goal half-time lead before Zuriko Davitashvili, on as a substitute, completed the rout (79’). The win lifts Saint-Étienne to second place on 23 points, four behind the leaders and four clear of Red Star.
“The team showed a real collective reaction -energy, desire, freshness,” Horneland said post-match to L'Équipe. “That’s what we’d been missing.”
L'ESTAC continue to set pace
At the top, Troyes continue to set the pace, stretching their unbeaten run to eight matches with a 3-1 win over Amiens. Tawfik Bentayeb struck twice to take his season tally to eight, with Mouanaïm El Idrissy adding a third late on. The victory keeps ESTAC four points clear on 27 points.
Behind the leaders, Red Star fell hard in Dunkerque (3-0), suffering their first away defeat of the campaign. The promoted side, meanwhile, confirmed their good form with a second consecutive 3-0 victory, climbing into the top half (8th, 16 pts).
Further down the table, Reims produced another offensive masterclass, winning 6-2 at Boulogne-sur-Mer thanks to a brace from Keito Nakamura and goals from young forwards Mohamed Toure and Junya Ito. The result pushes the Champagne side up to fifth place (19 pts) — their best position of the season.
Elsewhere, Montpellier took a valuable point (1-1) in Clermont, Nancy eased past Bastia (2-0) to move up to 13th, and Bastia’s struggles deepened — just 4 points from 12 matches leaves the Corsican club adrift at the bottom.
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>>Ligue 2 BKT: Montpellier climb into the top five as Red Star close in on Troyes
