PARIS (AP) — Georgia international Zuriko Davitashvili scored a hat trick to lead struggling Saint-Etienne to its second win in the French league, 3-1 against Auxerre on Saturday.
Lille also followed up its historic Champions League win against Real Madrid with another victory.
Davitashvili joined from Bordeaux this summer as Saint-Etienne prepared to return to the top-flight following a two-year absence. The highly rated winger delivered two assists but failed to score in his first six matches.
Saint-Etienne moved to 12th place, one point above Auxerre in the Ligue 1 standings.
A former powerhouse of French soccer, 10-time champion Saint-Etienne has struggled to readjust to the requirements of the elite and was trounced 8-0 by Nice last month. The club has bounced back to be unbeaten in its past two matches.
Davitashvili put the host ahead in the 15th minute with a powerful strike that capped a fine collective move with Léo Pétrot and Mathis Amougou. He made it 2-0 after the interval and hit the post before Canadian forward Thelonius Blair pulled one back with his first goal this season to set up a suspenseful finale.
Davitashvili kept his cool on the counter when he chipped the ball over the goalkeeper to achieve the hat trick and put the game to bed with four minutes left.
He was a member of the Georgia team which reached the European Championship last 16 this summer and produced a 2-0 upset win over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. His deal with Saint-Etienne runs until 2028, with an optional extra year.
Tied with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1 and unbeaten this season, Monaco later traveled to Rennes.
Ayyoub Bouaddi shines for Lille
Lille was sluggish against Toulouse in the the first half but recovered to win 2-1 at home.
Toulouse deservedly took the lead in the 39th when Zakaria Aboukhlal broke the deadlock with a right-footed angled shot that was parried by goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier but crossed the line.
Chevalier, who was decisive against Madrid, made a crucial save in the 47th minute to keep Lille in the match before Angel Gomes leveled with the outside of his foot from Osame Sahraoui's subtly chipped assist over the defense.
Up-and-coming midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi then showed his class. On the counter, the 17-year-old midfielder beat an opponent with a two-touch dribble then delivered a laser cut through ball to set up Mitchel Bakker's goal in the 75th.
Lille moved to fourth place, eight points above 16th-place Toulouse, which slumped to a third consecutive loss.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Associated Press
