Nice triumph at Lille

Nice ended Lille's 100 per cent winning home record to move up to sixth in Ligue 1 with a hard-fought 2-0 win.

Nice ended Lille's 100 per cent winning home record to move up to sixth in Ligue 1 with a hard-fought 2-0 win under the closed roof of the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Two first-half Dario Cvitanich strikes all but secured the visitors their first win on the road this season and ensured a place above their opponents in the league table. After a relatively quiet opening, the game sprang into life when Lille's Ryan Mendes sprinted past Gregoire Puel but his pull-back was put wide by Ronny Rodelin. Nice offered a quick response, though, and took the lead in style after 19 minutes through their Argentinian hitman. Puel picked out Christian Bruls in the area and the Belgian's clever back-heel teed up Cvitanich to leave Vincent Enyeama a beaten man for the first time at home this season. Rene Girard's men attempted to hit back straight away but Mendes' volley hit the back of Didier Digard in the area signalling some half-hearted penalty claims from the home side. With both teams beginning to find their rhythm the visitors went close to a second but Timothee Kolodziejczak's stinging effort was kept out well by the alert Enyeama. Nice were forced to ride their luck as the break approached but, despite some heavy pressure from the hosts, Les Aiglons doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time. In a similar fashion to the opening goal, the Belgian Bruls was the instigator and, after showing a few neat touches to beat Simon Kjaer, he found Cvitanich, who did the rest from inside the area to stun the home crowd. Girard opted to send an unchanged team out for the second half and it almost paid off but for the efforts of Nice's goalkeeper David Ospina. Firstly the Colombian kept out Franck Beria's effort but was called upon straight away to parry Rodelin's follow-up. The post came to his rescue the third time round as Salomon Kalou saw his shot come back off the upright. Lille continued to press for that elusive goal and Kalou went close again but, after breaking free, the Ivorian dragged his shot wide just millimetres wide of Ospina's far post. The hosts continued to press and Soualiho Meite saw an effort cleared off the line by Papy Mendy following a Martin corner but the hosts held out for an impressive away victory.