Saint-Etienne recovered from falling a goal behind to Caen to win 2-1 as they scored maximum points for the first time since the opening weekend of the season.
AS Saint-Etienne 2-1 SM Caen 
THE MATCH
Caen had won on two of their three previous visits to ASSE and it looked as though Stade Geoffroy-Guichard would again prove a happy hunting ground as they took the lead (32′). Casimir Ninga got wide down the left and passed to Fayçal Fajr, who managed to score from the edge of the penalty box as ASSE goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier didn’t cover himself in glory.
Fajr’s goal meant Caen had scored in five consecutive Ligue 1 Conforama games, although going behind sparked an ASSE fightback. Yannis Salibur (41′) had a goal ruled out for offside and then Mathieu Debuchy (45+3′) had a header saved by Brice Samba.
At the start of the second half ASSE were awarded a penalty for an Adama Mbengue foul on Salibur and Wahbi Khazri (48′) sent Samba the wrong way, rolling home the spot-kick for his second goal since joining in the summer.
Jean-Louis Gasset’s men moved into the lead (66′) when Timothéé Kolodziejczak scored his first Ligue 1 Conforama goal since netting for Nice in April 2014, following up after fellow defender Neven Subotic had hit the post. ASSE had another goal ruled out for offside (74′) as Khazri had strayed, and then hit the post again through Yann M’Vila (83′). Straight after that, Debuchy was forced off with a thigh injury, a low point on what was otherwise a good night for Les Verts.
THE PLAYER: Wahbi Khazri
The Tunisian international will be missed at Toulouse on Tuesday when he’ll be suspended. There had been many questions asked in the French press as to whether Khazri and Rémy Cabella were capable of operating in the same side. This victory went some way towards providing an answer.
THE STAT: 3
Saint-Etienne got back on the goal trail after three scoreless outings that had seen them muster a mere two points.
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