Saint Etienne vs Montpellier — Ligue 2: stats, lineups & analysis
Match Events
- 41′Saint Etienne, goal:1–0assist
- 42′Montpellier, yellow card:Dissent
- 45′Saint Etienne, yellow card:Foul
- 45+5′Montpellier, goal:1–1assist
- Half-time1 – 1
- 49′Saint Etienne, goal:2–1assist
- 58′Saint Etienne, substitution:off
- 59′Montpellier, yellow card:Argument
- 59′Saint Etienne, yellow card:I. CathroArgument
- 65′Saint Etienne, substitution:off
- 65′Saint Etienne, substitution:off
- 67′Montpellier, yellow card:Foul
- 70′Montpellier, substitution:off
- 71′Montpellier, substitution:off
- 71′Saint Etienne, goal:3–1assist
- 76′Saint Etienne, substitution:off
- 76′Saint Etienne, substitution:off
- 79′Montpellier, substitution:off
- 79′Montpellier, substitution:off
- 84′Montpellier, substitution:off
- Full-time3 – 1
Lineups
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Key Stats
Top Performers
Best rated
Goals
Assists
Player Ratings
Saint Etienne
Montpellier
Match report
Saint Etienne stay perfect with 3-1 win over Montpellier
Saint Etienne maintained their unbeaten start to the Ligue 2 season with a 3-1 victory over Montpellier at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, a result that kept them top of the table on 15 points from five matches. The home side led at the break before Montpellier drew level, but two second-half goals settled the contest in Saint Etienne's favour.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Maxime Bernauer broke the deadlock in the 41st minute, converting an assist from Irvin Cardona to put the hosts ahead. Montpellier responded almost immediately before the interval, Daylam Meddah levelling in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time after being set up by Nordan Mukiele, sending the teams in level at 1-1 at the break.
Saint Etienne restored their lead early in the second half through Augustine Boakye, whose goal in the 49th minute was created by Tamar Svetlin. Joshua Duffus added a third in the 71st minute, again teed up by Cardona, to make it 3-1 and put the result beyond Montpellier's reach for the remainder of the match.
Despite Montpellier holding 55 percent of possession, it was Saint Etienne who created the more clear-cut openings, registering 14 shots to their visitors' six and putting five on target compared with three for Montpellier.
Daylam Meddah earned the highest rating on the pitch at 7.65 after scoring Montpellier's only goal, a leveller just before half-time.
Saint Etienne produced 14 shots to Montpellier's six, underlining their greater threat in front of goal despite having less of the ball.
Saint Etienne beat Montpellier 3–1 (half-time 1–1).
Saint Etienne met Montpellier in the Ligue 2 (Regular Season - 5). Kick-off was Saturday, 5 September 2026, 18:00 UTC at Stade Geoffroy Guichard. Referee: Ahmed Taleb.
Team pages: Saint Etienne · Montpellier · Ligue 2
Key moments
- 41' Goal: Maxime Bernauer (assist: Irvin Cardona) — 1–0
- 45+5' Goal: Daylam Meddah (assist: Nordan Mukiele) — 1–1
- 49' Goal: Augustine Boakye (assist: Tamar Svetlin) — 2–1
- 71' Goal: Joshua Duffus (assist: Irvin Cardona) — 3–1
Starting line-ups
Saint Etienne (4-2-3-1)
Montpellier (4-1-4-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Saint Etienne 39%, the draw 30%, Montpellier 31%. It finished Saint Etienne 3–1 Montpellier.
Level sides, home ground holds off Montpellier's cold finishing due to recover — Nothing separates them on our strength rating, and Saint Etienne's 39% is home ground and little else. The draw at 30% is lifted by the early-season fade in home wins.
Why Saint Etienne in front?
Home ground, and little else. Almost nothing between them on our strength rating — 1653 to 1625. Sides this close won 45.6% of 14,560 home games (draw 26.5%, visitors 27.9%).
Why only 39%?
Because on our strength rating there is nothing in it. Montpellier sit -0.40 goals per game below chance-quality — cold streaks like this have bounced back. Visitors this cold went on to win 32.5% of 1,343 games, vs 29.1% for visitors finishing normally. Both sides are inside their first six league games — home wins land softer this early in the season, so this trims Saint Etienne's column. Across 10,911 opening-stretch games since 2010, home sides won 42.8% where the rating map expected 44.9%, with draws up 2.0 — negative in every season since 2018.
Why the draw at 30%?
Between sides this level the draw starts at 26.5%. These teams' recent games average 2.5 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 26.2% of 27,731. Early-season fixtures add 2.0 points to the draw. The goals environment adds 1.4 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Saint Etienne won all of the last 5 games between these sides. Head-to-head dominance hasn't carried forward beyond the rating: sides that won 4+ of the last 5 meetings won 55.7% of 9,276 next meetings vs 55.0% class-expected. Saint Etienne on 4 days' rest, Montpellier on 8. Once class is accounted for, rest gaps stopped mattering — across 43,621 measured games no rest advantage repeated.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Saint Etienne vs Montpellier final score and result, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Ligue 2 fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
The full match report above covers the goals, key moments and stats. Explore more on the Saint Etienne and Montpellier team pages or the Ligue 2 page.