Hard-headed Toulouse
The first in the standings was out at the start of the afternoon for the 24th day. Toulouse (1st) moved on the lawn of Valenciennes (16th). At the end of a disputed match, the Toulousains come out of it with experience of the northern trap. They are currently consolidating their first place while waiting for the matches of their direct competitors with 4 and 6 points on their two pursuers. Final score (1-3)
The Toulousains fit perfectly into the meeting with a mastery of the tempo and possession of the ball. They are rewarded in the tenth minute on a free kick taken by Van Den Boomen, Rouault attacks the right area and takes the ball with his head. This is how they open the scoring to put themselves in the best position.
The match thereafter will be balanced, Valenciennes managed to carry the danger in half of the Toulouse field. With desire, energy. Toulouse certainly keeps possession, but in the state of mind, nothing to complain about for the Northerners. It is on a tactical level that it fails. The block is very often cut in two, the pressing is not properly accompanied, a bit in a perpetual in-between.
With the Toulousains, the control is there, the players show a very good technical quality in view of the lawn of the day.
In the second half, the intensity remains the same over the first 20 minutesand it was Toulouse who once again proved to be decisive. At the 53rd minuteon a loss of ball of Ayité, Nicolaisen’s teammates carry out a real school action concluded by Ratao. 2 – 0, everything seems to be going well. But it was without counting on the Valencian overflowing desire, which 3 minutes after successfully closing the gap and getting back into the game. On a set piece again, Bonnet manages to cut the trajectory of the center and places a header out of reach of the Toulouse goalkeeper Eux, who thought they had done the hardest part, seeing Valenciennes back in business.
In the 75th minute, the action that could have been a turning point in the game, Ngoummou managed to get into a striking position, the latter touched the post, Valenciennes still remained in the game.
Their hopes will very quickly be extinguished, Toulouse having difficulty in succeeding. We take the same and start again, Corner deposited by Van Den Boomen on the head of Rouault, launched, which smashes the ball to the left of Chevalier. Nothing will be registered again and Toulouse therefore pockets the victory thanks to its good management of the start of half-time.
Toulouse is irresistible this season, they scored 53 goals this season. They were also registered 14 goals from set pieces. On an individual level, Van Den Boomen is making his mark this season, he has just made his 15th decisive pass, he is approaching Zinedine Ferhat’s 20 decisive passes during his time in Le Havre.