Bakary Sako struck 18 minutes from time to hand St Etienne maximum points from their home fixture against Brest this afternoon.

In an opening 45 minutes of very few goalscoring chances, the best chance fell to St Etienne's Florent Sinama-Pongolle. However, the former Liverpool striker saw his effort from eight yards out blocked.

It took just three minutes after the restart for the deadlock to be broken when Max Gradel scored from the penalty spot for the home side.

Their lead would only last until the 63rd minute though as Issam Jemaa turned in a pass from Alexandre Alphonse to level up proceedings.

Both sides had chances to score the third goal of the match, which eventually went the way of the hosts. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang flicked the ball on and Sako was on hand to score from a narrow angle.

Aubameyang went close to making the game safe in the closing stages, but he was unable to keep his header from eight yards out on target.