Saint-Étienne suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat against En Avant Guingamp at the Stade Roudourou during the 11th round of Ligue 2 fixtures, cutting their lead at the top of the table to just a single point over Montpellier. Ian Cathro called the performance chaotic, pointing to a collective failure to handle the match context and demanding immediate structural adjustments from both his staff and players.

The setback marks only the second defeat of the campaign for the league leaders, who had not lost since a 2-1 reverse away at Dunkerque on September 12. Despite holding 60 percent of the possession in the opening stages, the visitors failed to convert their early chances, notably through a close-range header from Csongvai that sailed wide after a corner prolonged by Le Cardinal. For the first time this season, the championship’s best attack, having scored 23 goals, remained scoreless and conceded three goals in a single match.

Guingamp capitalizes on early openings

Guingamp struck first in the 37th minute through Stanislas Kielt. Following a swift breakout initiated by Hemia, Samir Ben Brahim drove down the left flank, avoided a sliding challenge from Le Cardinal, and laid the ball back for Kielt to slot a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Mamour Ndiaye at the near post. The strike marked Kielt’s third goal of the Ligue 2 season, sending the hosts into the halftime interval with a 1-0 advantage.

The first half also featured a brief stoppage following a heavy head-to-head collision between Naïr and Hemia in the 32nd minute, though the incident ultimately proved to be without severe consequence, following an earlier yellow card shown to Ferreira in the 29th minute. Just prior to the breakthrough, Saint-Étienne had come closest to opening the scoring when Breum curled a right-footed effort against the outside of the goal frame in the 27th minute, shortly after Guingamp had signaled their threat through an Hemia free-kick deflected by the wall in the 16th minute.

Second-half strikes seal the victory

Looking to overturn the deficit, the visitors introduced Mahmoud Jaber, Irvin Cardona, and Ben Old at the start of the second period. However, Guingamp doubled their lead in the 50th minute via Teddy Andami Averlant, who unleashed a floating right-footed strike from nearly 30 meters out that dipped cleanly into the top corner of Ndiaye’s goal.

The home side continued to test the visiting defense, coming close to a third when Bokangu misdirected a shot across the face of goal in the 74th minute. The third goal arrived in the 85th minute when substitute Amadou Samoura scored with a lofted effort over Ndiaye on his very first touch after entering the match, sealing the 3-0 scoreline.

Standings impact and Montpellier pursuit

With the loss, Saint-Étienne remains at the top of the Ligue 2 standings with 25 points, but their cushion has evaporated. Montpellier capitalized fully on the leaders’ stumble by securing a dominant 3-0 victory away at Annecy earlier on the same day, claiming their fourth win and stretching a four-point gap over third-placed Pau. The MHSC success was driven by a brace from Nicolas Pays in the 43rd and 63rd minutes, alongside an opening goal from 16-year-old Laciné Megnan-Pavé in the 24th minute, who also contributed an assist for Pays after Pays had previously assisted Megnan-Pavé’s opener. Montpellier also holds the division’s best defense with only 6 goals conceded.

Montpellier now sits in second place, trailing the leaders by just one single unit.