Khazri strike not enough as Saint-Etienne lose against Brest

Wahbi Khazri was on the scoresheet in Saint-Etienne’s 2-1 loss to Brest in Saturday’s Ligue 1 game.

The 30-year-old has been in fine form for the Saints this season and against Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men, he delivered yet another eye-catching display.

After losing against Paris Saint-Germain last time out, Saint-Etienne could not avoid a second consecutive defeat at Stade Geoffroy Guichard despite securing an early lead.

The Saints hit the ground running in the encounter when Khazri opened the scoring as early as the 11th minute after capitalizing on a defensive blunder.

The 30-year-old suffered an injury in the 17th minute but after receiving treatment from Saint-Etienne’s medical team, he returned and continued to help his side push to double their lead.

Brest then got a glorious chance to level proceedings in the 40th minute when Irvin Cardona fired a fine shot but hit the crossbar.

After the half-time break, the Pirates continued to push for an equalizer and it came in the 66th minute when Gaetan Charbonnier fired a fine shot into the back of the net.

Saint-Etienne were dealt a further blow when Charbonnier completed his brace with a fine effort after receiving an assist from Romain Perraud to help his side secure all three points.

Khazri featured for 55 minutes before he was replaced by Romain Hamouma, had 44 touches on the ball, completed one dribble among his contributions in the encounter.

Algeria international Haris Belkebla was on parade for the entirety of the game and ended with the winning side.

The defeat saw Saint-Etienne drop to the 11th spot on the league table after gathering 42 points from 34 games.

Khazri has now scored six goals in 18 appearances in the French top-flight this season, amid other dazzling displays.

The forward will hope to continue his fine performances and help his side return to the winning ways when they take on Montpellier in their next league game on May 2.