Lille OSC 1 - 0 Saint-Etienne: Yacine Benzia goal gives Lille boss Frederic Antonetti first win

Yacine Benzia's superb second-half volley secured Lille's first maximum points haul in seven attempts with a slender 1-0 win against St Etienne.

Either side could easily have opened the scoring in the opening 45 minutes but Lille were denied a penalty when Florent Balmont went down inside the area before Valentin Eyserric's free-kick crashed against the crossbar at the other end.

But, just after the hour mark, the hosts made a vital breakthrough when Benzia raced onto Marvin Martin's long ball before crashing a stunning first-time volley beyond Stephane Ruffier.

Despite claiming a first victory under the stewardship of new coach Frederic Antonetti, Lille remain in the bottom three b ut close the gap to just one point on fourth-bottom Bordeaux.