Mathieu Bodmer goal sees off Lille

A first-half goal from Mathieu Bodmer has earned Nice a 1-0 triumph over Lille in Ligue 1.

The visitors had the better of the opening exchanges, with defender Simon Kjaer forcing goalkeeper Mouez Hassan into a routine stop from long range.

Nice's Valentin Eysseric had his own effort easily saved by Vincent Enyeama, but the best chance of the first half-hour fell to Lille's Sebastien Corchia, who was denied a goal by the sharp reflexes of Hassan.

Just before the break, Nice edged ahead at Allianz Riviera after Bodmer powered a header into the net from six yards after being found by a Eysseric corner.

The hosts pushed for a second soon after the restart, with Carlos Eduardo missing the target twice in the space of three minutes before Marcos Lopes missed the far corner with a speculative shot from 25 yards.

A number of bookings and substitutions prevented Lille from generating any kind of momentum as they searched for an equaliser, and a late strike from Florent Balmont was as good as it got for them as they fell to their first defeat of the season.