PARIS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Three goals in a span of less than 20 minutes powered Saint-Etienne past Nantes 3-0 to keep their home intact in the 15th round match of Ligue 1 on Friday.
Nantes were riding on a five-match unbeaten streak as they arrived for Friday's clash, hoping to become the first team this season to triumph in Saint-Etienne's home stadium.
However, they had to see their starting goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu off the pitch due to injury early in the second half, which cost their fate later on.
Robert Beric headed home a Yannis Salibur cross to move Saint-Etienne ahead in the 72nd minute. That was followed by Wahbi Khazri's brilliant free kick with six minutes from time.
Timothee Kolodziejczak headed in a Salibur corner in the 90th minute to cap a scoring night for Saint-Etienne, who provisionally broke into the top five.
Paris Saint-Germain, who have won all 14 league matches to start this season, will visit Bordeaux on Sunday.
Lyon and Lille are set to put on a contention for the second position, with a mere point to separate both sides on the table.