Lille have registered a comprehensive 4-1 victory over 10-man Montpellier at home to climb up to fifth in Ligue 1.
The hosts pulled ahead in the 24th minute through Nolan Roux, who collected Dimitri Payet's pass and fired in from outside the box.
Payet himself made it 2-0 to Lille in the 43rd minute when he latched onto Roux's pass and shot home from the left side of the Montpellier penalty area.
The defending French champions went down to 10 men on the stroke of half time, as Younes Belhanda was dismissed for violent conduct.
Lille took advantage of their numerical superiority and scored their third goal of the evening on 62 minutes, Roux once again finding the target from outside the area.
Roux could have completed his hat-trick in the 75th minute had Geoffrey Jourdren not kept out his effort; however, the rebound fell to Ryan Mendes, who smashed it home with ease.
Souleymane Camara pulled one back for Montpellier in the 83rd minute, but it proved to be a mere consolation for the visitors.
Subhankar Mondal
