What an evening for Toulouse supporters! They set the stage on fire from the pre-match for the Stadium’s return to Europe, 17 years after its last appearance at this level. A crazy atmosphere that his players returned with an already important victory for qualification against Linz (1-0). On the other hand, on the Villarreal side, Stade Rennais was unable to escape the trap set by the yellow submarine despite the great comeback of Martin Terrier (0-1). The summary of the two matches as OM conceded a draw (2-2) earlier in the day after leading 2-0 against Brighton.
The “Téfécé” not without trembling
If the Stadium vibrated from the start, the Toulouse residents did not reassure their supporters at the very start of the match. Jostled from the start, and author of several technical errors, the “Téfécé” almost got surprised in the 23rd minute with a bad back pass from Desler. Guillaume Restes, vigilant, author of a very good outing on the feet, saved his family well.
An action that finally woke up the Violets. Seven minutes later, Suazo came to give his teammates the advantage with a short billiard shot in the area. After giving it to Dallinga, the ball returned to his feet at the entrance to the 5.50 m thanks to an Austrian defender. A powerful strike from the left from the Chilean defender and Toulouse was able to return to the locker room at the break with a head start.
But the “Téfécé”, completely dispossessed of the ball in a more choppy second period, did not stop facing the Austrian offensives. After two first alerts on the Toulouse goal, on the hour mark, Ljubicic completely missed the equalizing ball alone against Remains at the far post. The Toulouse then controlled the end of the match much better to win by the smallest of margins (1-0). With 4 points in two games, Toulouse is second in Group E behind Liverpool, 6 points, winner of Union Saint-Gilloise (2-0) this Thursday evening.
Rennes and Terrier, heads underwater in Villarreal
On the Spanish side, Stade Rennais failed to imitate Toulouse and suffered from the start of the match against Villarreal. Despite a still restless Ludovic Blas, the Breton defense suffered the wrath of Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth. Untenable in front, the 1.95m center forward first came up against Mandanda in the 19th minute on a beautiful volley from the left after heading the ball. He ended up finding the opening in the 36th minute with a shot at ground level from 20m, facing a Rennes defense and an overly apathetic Arthur Theate.
More dominant and more dangerous in the second half thanks in particular to the entry of Gouiri, Stade Rennais believed they opened the score in the 68th minute, on a hand error from the indestructible Pepe Reina, 41 years old. On a crushed shot from Blas after a nice Breton movement, the Spanish goalkeeper let the ball slide between his legs before catching it just before it crossed the line.
Six minutes later, Kalimuendo’s volley, which also came into play well, almost hit the mark, but was well countered by the Spanish defense. In the process, the former Parisian, again, obtained a penalty after a foul by Pepe Reina, finally canceled, quite logically.
The entry into play of Martin Terrier, for his comeback 9 months after his serious right knee injury, almost paid off. The French striker missed the equalizer in the 80th minute with a volley from the right, which went just wide of the Spanish net. Two minutes from the end of regulation time, the Rennes number 7 had another chance to come back into the score, with a penalty validated by the VAR after very long minutes. Terrier finally stumbled upon Reina before sending his diving header wide. 1-0, final score. Rennes may have regrets and sees their evening opponent come back to level with 3 points.
