A series of defensive errors saw Lyon fall to a third straight defeat in all competitions against an impressive Montpellier side.
Lyon failed to keep up its modest pressure on Paris Saint-Germain as it suffered a 3-1 defeat to Rolland Courbis' Montpellier.
An error-strewn display from Hubert Fournier's team consigned them to a fourth defeat in five games in all competitions and could see them fall 16 points adrift of the defending champion.
After an open start, Maxime Gonalons turned Jerome Roussillon's cross into his own net before William Remy released Rodrigue Ninga to net the second after 11 minutes.