Toulouse got everything right except the scoreline
Three minutes in, Casseres rattled Berke Ozer’s crossbar. That was the warning, and Lille spent the next 87 minutes ignoring it at their peril. Toulouse arrived at the Municipal on Thursday still hunting a first win of the season, beaten by Lyon and pegged back by Brest. They played their best football of the campaign. They lost.
Ethan Mbappe replied for Lille almost immediately, Restes turning it away in the 4th. After that, the game belonged to the hosts. Hidalgo and Russell-Rowe went at Ozer from the ninth minute onwards and got nothing. A strong hand on another Hidalgo effort in the 18th. A reflex save on the line from about two yards in the 39th. A right boot thrown at Casseres in the 42nd. VAR chalked off a Ngoy handball in the box after spotting a Russell-Rowe shove in the 34th.
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Ancelotti fixed it from the touchline
Davide Ancelotti did not wait for half-time. Perraud and Bakwa replaced Verdonk and Sahraoui, the shape tightened, and the space Toulouse had been enjoying quietly disappeared. TFC kept coming. Clear chances stopped arriving.
Then the game turned on an injury. Restes went down, Mathys Niflore came on for his Ligue 1 debut, and his first involvement was a scramble in his own box that broke to Ayase Ueda. The Japanese substitute, on the pitch a matter of minutes, finished it in the 73rd.
Seven points, and not one complete performance
Toulouse had two more. Jorgensen threaded Tengstedt through in the 78th and the Dane ballooned it. Jorgensen then found Ozer’s gloves with the last act of the night. The Turkish keeper walks away with a clean sheet that may look significant in May.
Lille win 1-0 and top Ligue 1 on seven points, built from a win over Angers, a stoppage-time draw with PSG and this. The Dogs have yet to play well for 90 minutes. They lead the league regardless.
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