This time, dominating means winning!

Context

After conceding a draw against Laval (3-3) at Francis-Le-Basser last Saturday, Eirik Horneland's Verts kick off their season at home in a Geoffroy-Guichard stadium filled with more than 33,000 fans ! Facing them : Rodez, a team that has been a thorn in the side of the Verts in Ligue 2 in recent history.

Starting XI

With Mahmoud Jaber and Lucas Stassin returning and Joshua Duffus joining the squad, Eirik Horneland has plenty of options! In front of his goalkeeper and captain Gautier Larsonneur, Mickael Nadé and Chico Lamba form the central defence, sided by new comers : Joao Ferreira on the right wing and Ebenezer Annan on the left one. Mahmoud Jaber, unavailable last weekend, makes his debut for Les Verts alongside Florian Tardieu and Aïmen Moueffek. Zuriko Davitashvili, Augustine Boakye and Josuha Duffus are the attacking trio. The latter is also making his first official appearance for the star-studded club.

90e+5 : Quel joli premier succès des Verts dans un Chaudron déjà au rendez-vous ! Place désormais à un déplacement difficile sur la pelouse de Boulogne. ALV ! 👊

💚 4-0 🔴 #ASSERAF pic.twitter.com/afX1DifmCb

— AS Saint-Étienne (@ASSEofficiel) August 16, 2025

Le match

In the magnificent Chaudron, les Verts start at full speed and quickly suffocate their opponents. The highly mobile Joshua Duffus creats the first chance of the match. But after being set up by Mahmoud Jaber, his shot is deflected by the Rodez's goalkeeper (9'). A long spell of possession for Saint-Étienne leads to another attack. João Ferreira's cross cause danger in the box, but RAF pull off another save (10'). Joshua Duffus stand out again. First with a shot from outside the box that go just over the top of the goal, then with a shot from close range after turning quickly, which again hit the opposing goalkeeper (16'). After a loss of possession in front of our box, Mendes takes a chance with his first touch and hits Gautier Larsonneur's post (18th)! In the same minute, Zuriko Davitashvili goes on the counter-attack, but the Georgian opens his foot too wide as he approaches the box and see his attempt fly wide of the target (18th). With Les Verts enjoying 80% possession, their dominance finally pays off! Joshua Duffus is perfectly set up by João Ferreira and beat Braat to open the scoring (1-0, 26'). After a fine team move, perfectly set up by Joshua Duffus, Augustine Boakye forces his shot and misses the target (33'). Immediately afterwards, the relentless Duffus aims for the top corner in the box, but sees his shot graze the post (34'). The Greens continue to dominate but are unable to break the deadlock before the break.

But that's exactly what happened right after! Back from the dressing room and with Irvin Cardona on the pitch in place of the goalscorer, Les Verts quickly push forward towards the goal! A first chance created by Augustine Boakye is followed by a second that allows Mahmoud Jaber, up front, to control the ball with his chest and place it out of reach for the break (2-0, 47'). Craving for more and with the stadium on fire, Saint-Étienne did not stop there. From midfield, Irvin Cardona beats Braat to extend the lead (3-0, 56'). Although Les Verts continue to control ball possession, chances are few and far between in the heat of Saint-Étienne. Launched down the left wing, Zuriko Davitashvili cuts inside and beats the entire red and yellow defence, but his shot flies wide (73'). However, the Georgian international got a chance to celebrate a few minutes later when, after a magnificent team combination, Saint-Étienne's number 22 enters the box and beats Braat to add his name to the scoresheet (4-0, 78'). The perfect conclusion of a well-deserved victory! Thanks to this resounding win, Les Verts move to the top of the Ligue 2 table.

Next

After this wonderful evening at home, Les Verts will travel to the Stade de la Libération in Boulogne next Saturday, then finish off August with a home game against Grenoble. Tickets for this match are already on sale!

Joueurs associés

7

Irvin
Cardona

France

  I want his jersey

22

Zuriko
Davitashvili

Géorgie

17

Joshua
Duffus

Angleterre