Mario Balotelli

Paris: Nice coped without the suspended Mario Balotelli to win 1-0 at Saint-Etienne on Sunday and go clear at the top of Ligue 1 once again.

Valentin Eysseric scored the only goal of the game in the second half at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard as Nice bounced back from a 1-0 defeat at Caen in their last outing before the international break.

It was the perfect response from Lucien Favre's side in a difficult fixture after their closest rivals, Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain, won earlier over the weekend to crank up the pressure on the surprise leaders.

"Overall we deserved the win," said Favre, although he also accepted that his team did not scale the heights that have seen them take French football by storm this season.