Francois Bellugou and Gianni Bruno give Lorient important win over Bastia

Goals from Francois Bellugou and Gianni Bruno gave Lorient a 2-0 victory over Bastia at the Stade du Moustoir in Ligue 1 this evening.

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Lorient looked dangerous on the counter in the early stages as Romain Philippoteaux broke away at pace to play in Raphael Guerreiro, but he drilled wide of the target.

Bastia sought to respond with a chance of their own and Ryad Boudebouz found space to get a shot off, only to see Benjamin Lecomte save comfortably.

Lorient took the lead after only 16 minutes through Bellugou as he profited from Guerreiro's headed knockdown to tuck into the bottom corner from six yards out.

The hosts might have taken a 2-0 lead into the break but for Alphonse Areola, who pulled off two smart stops to keep out long-range efforts from Jordan Ayew and Philippoteaux.

The away side appeared slightly more galvanised after the interval, with Gael Danic seeing a strong effort saved at the bottom corner by a sprawling Lecomte.

Lorient sensed danger and they looked to grab a goal to kill the game off, with Vincent Le Goff picking out a fine cross for Ayew, who tamely headed wide from just six yards out.

The hosts continued to press for a second as Philippoteaux came close following Walid Mesloub's pass, but Areola saved again, before Bruno finally brought things to a close with his right-footed effort five minutes from time.