Grenoble claimed a comfortable 3-0 victory over Laval in Ligue 2's regular season round four on Thursday evening. The away side took control early and never looked back, moving to within a point of the hosts in the table. Both teams enter this fixture with identical records after four matches.
Samba Diba opened the scoring in the 19th minute, capitalising on a moment of space in the penalty area. Baptiste Mouazan doubled the advantage just before half-time with a composed finish in the 40th minute. Clément Vidal picked up a yellow card for Grenoble in stoppage time before the break. The visitors switched shape at the break, pressing higher up the pitch.
Kevin Fofana sealed the result with a clinical strike in the 71st minute. Laval made several changes in the second half, bringing on Jacque Akpa Akpro and Lucas Cerri in the 70th minute. Sacha Mellier received another booking for the hosts in the 64th minute. The home side were running out of games to turn things around.
Laval dominated possession at 68 per cent but struggled to convert their territory into clear opportunities. They registered 162 attacks and 8 corners but could only create one big chance. Grenoble were more efficient with five shots on target from five attempts inside the penalty area. The visitors' goalkeeper made four saves to keep a clean sheet.
Both sides remain level on four points after four matches, with Laval sitting 14th and Grenoble 13th. The result ends Laval's run of draws and shows they need to find consistency. Grenoble's away form has been mixed, with a heavy defeat to Saint-Étienne earlier this month. They'll hope to build momentum from this performance.