There had been few suggestions PSG had the imagination to break down their visitors in an engrossing first half on Saturday.

It still came as a shock when Mamadou Sakho put the ball into his own net to give Saint-Etienne the lead.

PSG's woes were compounded when talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw red for a reckless challenge on Stephane Ruffier with 20 minutes remaining at Parc des Princes.

Saint-Etienne capitalised on their numerical advantage when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang added a second for the visitors just moments later.

Guillaume Hoarau restored some pride for the capital club with an 88th-minute strike but it proved nothing more than a consolation goal.

Carlo Ancelotti's side remain top of Ligue 1 for the time being, but Toulouse could steal their place if they overcome Bordeaux on Sunday, while Saint-Etienne have moved to within four points of the summit thanks to their third win in four games.

Lille continued their surge up the table with a comfortable 2-0 win at lowly Evian TG.

Nolan Roux opened the scoring on 40 minutes before Florent Balmont completed the win on the hour-mark as Lille claimed their first victory on the road in four attempts.

Valenciennes moved fourth temporarily after running out 3-1 winners at home to struggling Sochaux.

Foued Kadir put Daniel Sanchez's side ahead with a 12th-minute free kick and Gregory Pujol doubled the hosts' advantage 15 minutes later.

Pujol netted his second goal of the match on the hour-mark before Sebastien Roudet pulled a goal back two minutes later.

Elsewhere on Saturday, former PSG striker Mevlut Erdinc scored his second goal in three games as Rennes edged 10-man Reims 1-0, Nice followed on from their midweek victory over Lyon with a hard-fought 2-1 win at home to Nancy and defending champions Montpellier and Troyes played out a scoreless draw.