Lyon beats Montpellier 1-0 in French league

Lyon beat defending champion Montpellier 1-0 on Saturday to move five points ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, which lost 2-1 at Nice.

In-form Lyon forward Bafetimbi Gomis beat his marker to fire Clement Grenier's pass beyond goalkeeper Jonathan Ligali in the 26th minute.

"At the moment, the whole team is annoying me," Ancelotti said. "It's not possible to lose three times in five matches. I have to make radical changes. We didn't play as a team, we played too individually. We were lacking that sense of togetherness on the pitch. We couldn't find a solution up front.

"It's a difficult period. It's not enough to win against Kiev and Troyes. At the moment we're lacking consistency and intensity, and we're not taking on responsibility. In the league, we've only picked up four points out of 15. That's not normal for a team which wants to win."

Lyon could have doubled its lead 10 minutes later when Steed Malbranque's effort whistled just past Ligali's right post.

Montpellier went close in the 66th, but goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre did well to parry Marco Estrada's powerful shot.

Moments later, Souleymane Camara fired narrowly wide for Montpellier.

"This win was difficult," Lyon coach Remi Garde said. "We didn't know how to keep up the rhythm after the break. We got tired physically."