A fourth-minute goal from Pape Souare was enough to give Lille all three points in their Ligue 1 clash away to Montpellier HSC on Saturday evening.
It was the perfect start for the visitors, as Souare met Florent Balmont's cross with a low header into the bottom corner.
They could have doubled their lead a few minutes later but Ronny Rodelin's header from another Balmont delivery went narrowly wide.
Lille were doing much of the pressing but Souleymane Camara almost drew his side level; his effort was well saved low down by Vincent Enyeama.
The hosts came out strongly in the second half, with both Jonathan Tinhan and Djamel Bakar coming close, but they could not find the goal they needed.
They had their best chance in the final 10 minutes from the spot after Balmont brought down Abdelhamid El Kaoutari, but Remy Cabella's kick was saved by Enyeama, which sealed the points for Lille.
