On the back of their best-ever start to a Ligue 1 campaign, Lorient knew a victory against Auxerre would see them jointly top the table heading into the weekend and that incentive was enough to see a solid start from the visitors. It didn’t take long for them to establish an advantage, as Dango Ouattara ghosted into the area unmarked to latch onto Julien Ponceau’s cross and sweep home for a fourth game in a row. Conceding the opener seemed to spur Auxerre into life though, and they almost hit back instantly when Gauthier Hein’s cross was steered goalwards by Hamza Sakhi, but straight into the arms of Yvon Mvogo.
The hosts were made to pay for their missed chance shortly before the break as Lorient doubled their advantage. Montassar Talbi’s determination kept Vincent Le Goff’s cross alive and the effervescent Terem Moffi was on hand to head home his sixth of the season. The game was effectively over as a contest before the break, when Enzo Le Fée followed in Ouattara’s initial effort to tap home Lorient’s third of the half, with Auxerre suddenly fearing a repeat of last week’s 5-0 drubbing by Stade Rennais. They didn’t have to worry about that though, as they found a goal inside the opening five minutes of the second half when Mathias Autret’s effort was too hot for Mvogo to handle and Hein followed up to pull a goal back.
Despite Régis Le Bris’ pre-match comments urging his team not to get carried away with their lofty early position, it’s hard for a side who narrowly avoided relegation last season not to be buoyed by their incredible form, as they were untroubled in seeing out their fourth successive top-flight win for the first time since December 2013. After all, the last 13 teams to match Lorient's tally of 19 points at this stage of the season have gone on to claim a European spot.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Enzo Le Fée (Lorient)
