Saint-Etienne battled blizzard-like conditions in the Rhone-Alpes region to provisionally move fourth in Ligue 1 following a 4-1 weather-interrupted win over Montpellier.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted his 11th goal of the campaign as further strikes from Brandao, Yohan Mollo and Mathieu Bodmer extended Saint-Etienne’s winning streak to four in a match delayed for 45 minutes due to heavy snowfall.
Christophe Galtier’s side climbed above Nice and Bordeaux to fill the last of the European places with the club’s six-game winless run over the festive period becoming an increasingly distant memory.
Brandao converted Aubameyang’s low cross to stake the home side to a 13th-minute lead before Gabonese star Aubameyang scored in his third successive outing with a deft backheel from Renaud Cohade’s teasing ball into the box.
The second half was delayed by 15 minutes as groundstaff worked to clear snow off the pitch at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, but the interruption failed to halt the hosts’ momentum as Mollo pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty area just three minutes after the restart to coolly tuck under Geoffrey Jourdren.
Remy Cabella replied instantaneously to give Montpellier a glimmer of hope as he expertly steered beyond Stephane Ruffier with play then held up for a second time on 65 minutes as conditions again deteriorated.
The action resumed following a 30-minute interval with Bodmer marking his Saint-Etienne debut — following his loan move from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of January — with his team’s fourth on 74 minutes as he headed in a Cohade free-kick.
Saint-Etienne beat blizzard, Montpellier
