St-Etienne completely outplayed Nancy at home in their Ligue 1 encounter on Friday evening to win 4-0.

Brandao opened the scoring for the home side in the ninth minute before Romain Hamouma doubled the lead 10 minutes later.

It became 3-0 to St-Etienne in the 21st minute when Brandao scored his second goal of the evening with another header, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted his side's fourth four minutes later.

Things went from bad to worse for Nancy in the 68th minute when Simon Zenke was shown a straight red for a rash challenge on Faouzi Ghoulam.

Sports Mole takes a look at the key talking points from tonight's match at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Match Statistics

St-Etienne
Shots: 23
On Target: 10
Possession: 66%
Corners: 7
Yellow Cards: 1
Red Cards: 0

Nancy
Shots: 11
On Target: 4
Possession: 34%
Corners: 7
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 1

Was the result fair?

It was very much a fair result. St-Etienne were in full control of the match from the seventh minute onwards and deservedly bagged maximum points. Four goals in the space of 16 minutes were enough for the hosts, who overpowered Nancy in every possible way.

St-Etienne's performance

St-Etienne completely outplayed Nancy and they should be delighted with their performance, especially in the attacking department. Brandao's double will certainly increase his confidence. However, coach Christophe Galtier must have noticed that time and again his side were exposed to the counter-attacks.

Nancy's performance

Nancy were battered by St-Etienne on Friday evening and were disappointing in each and every department. The defence are to be blamed for all four goals, especially with the three headers that could have been avoided. The only positive that coach Jean Fernandez can take from this match is that his players did not lose heart and continued trying for a goal despite going 4-0 down.

Referee's performance

Sebastien Moreira had the game under control and awarded just one yellow card - to Jeremy Clement in the 70th minute. His decision to send off Simon Zenke for a rash lunge on Faouzi Ghoulam in the 68th minute was correct.

Sports Mole's man of the match

There are a number of contenders: Renaud Cohade provided two assists, Romain Hamouma scored a goal and won a number of free kicks in dangerous positions and Brandao headed home twice. However, the best player on the pitch was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored a good goal, provided the assist for Brandao's second and was impressive throughout with his runs and sharp deliveries.

Biggest gaffe

All four goals could have been avoided by Nancy, but none were the exclusive fault of one particular player. All arose from faults in the way the visitors defended.

What's next?

St-Etienne: St-Etienne will be much encouraged by this comprehensive win heading into the two-week international break. Christophe Galtier's side are away at Nice on October 20.

Nancy: Nancy stay stuck to the relegation zone and will have much work to do during the next fortnight or so before their home fixture against Sochaux.