The 28,000 spectators at the Stadium de Toulouse (sold out) sing to celebrate the victory against Paris FC in the clash between 1st and 2nd in Ligue 2. Celebrations worthy of a rise in Ligue 1 which is now almost certain for Toulouse, who are ten points ahead of Parisians. Hit by a hecatomb of injured, Paris FC nevertheless delivered a big performance for an hour after opening the scoring. But he cracked at the end of the match. Thierry Laurey’s team will have to work hard to maintain their second place in the last seven games. Hoping to quickly recover his absent offensive players.
What you must remember
Deprived of… 9 players (including 7 attackers), Thierry Laurey had opted for a five-man defense. Young Yoan Koré (17), captain of the France U18 team against Germany during the last international break, is in L2 for the third time this season. As Laurey hoped, despite the absences, his team was able to mobilize for this shock.
We saw a united and aggressive PFC defensively. But also able to recover the ball and quickly project forward. A great collective performance in the first period, rewarded by the goal of Julien Lopez who took advantage of a bad back pass from Van Den Boomen and a hesitation from Dupé (0-1, 15th). It’s his second goal of the season. And when the Parisians are overwhelmed, Vincent Demarconnay is there to win his duel against Ratao (17th) or stop the head of Diakité (22nd) in two stages. Paris FC managed to turn off the Stadium and disrupt the Toulouse machine.
After the moving tribute to Christophe Revault at the break, the Parisians return in the same mood. But on a corner from the inevitable Van Den Boomen, Maxime Bernauer misses his clearance and the ball comes back on the head of Diakité (1-1, 61st). A first mistake with serious consequences while Paris FC had hitherto made the perfect match.
The equalizer wakes up the Stadium and Toulouse. The waves multiply in front of Demarconnay’s goal. The goalkeeper of the Parisian temple is again decisive against Ratao (74th) then on a strike from Ngounou (76th). But the PFC is in apnea and on a new acceleration, Healey, the top scorer of L2, makes the Stadium roar with pleasure with his 16th achievement of the season (2-1, 85th). The Parisians failed to go the distance.
The player: Cyril Mandouki
The captain of Paris FC, victim of a ruptured hamstring tendon, in September made his return as a starter after having made two ends of the match against Nancy and Pau before the international break. Like his team, he delivered a great burst of energy, recovering many balloons and projecting himself forward as soon as he could. He even finished the game in an unusual left-back position. But he logically weakened physically in the final minutes. Like his team.
The number: 49
Paris FC had not lost a Ligue 2 match in which it had opened the scoring since August 9, 2019 in Rodez (1-2), the end of a series of 49 games without defeat after scoring the 1st goal in the division.
The reaction
“We certainly had boys that we missed. But those who were on the field pulled off a big game in terms of spirit and determination. We knew we had no right to make a mistake against this team, we made one too many… At one point, we ran out of gas. I have nothing to reproach the players. The supporters were taking a nap in the sun but they woke up on the first Toulouse goal. Then it was a tornado. But we weren’t far off. We were forced to make changes, because some were physically tough in positions where we lack solutions. We lacked percussion, on certain balls, a little speed would have been very useful to us. If I had had a little speed even on the bench, I could have sent some. There is equipment on the bench in Toulouse, while we have to bring in some rather tender kids. I hope that we will recover our injuries, because it is something essential for us in the final stretch. But there is no reason to worry after a match like this. We are going to remobilize and build on this match where there were some interesting things. » Thierry Laurey, coach of Paris FC
Match sheet
TOULOUSE-PARIS FC: 2-1 (0-1).
Spectators: 28,000.
Referee: Mr. Petit.
Buts. Toulouse: Diakite (61st), Healey (85th); Paris FC: Lopez (15th).
Toulouse : Dupe (cap.) – Desler, Rouault, Nicolaisen (Sylla, 46e), Diakité – Genreau (Onaiwu, 65eà, Diarra (Dejaegere, 55e), Van den Boomen – Ngoumou, Healey, Ratao. Entr .: Montanier.
Paris FC: Demarconnay – Koré (Bamba, 73rd), Chergui, Kanté, Bernauer, Hanin (Name, 73rd) – Mandouki (cap.) (Bacha, 88th), Siby, Iglesias – Lopez (Beaka, 82nd), Boutaïb. Entr. : Laurey.