Toulouse: a defensively-resilient purple patch?

After initially struggling this season, Les Violets have surged up the table with a new-found identity based on… defensive resilience and home form.

“Every week, I get the same question about results at the Stadium... I don't have much to say, you have to be positive,” said the Spanish coach at the start of the season. Toulouse fans have always remarked about their dwindling home form. In fact it started way back in 2023 under former coach Philippe Montanier, where the club suffered five defeats in a row before the arrival of Carles Martinez Novell.

Since then, Les Violets' home form hadn't much improved, until recently this season where TFC have won three of their last five games on home soil. It's an improvement that has coincided with a general uplift in form for the Garonne side. Toulouse have now won four out of their last five matches in Ligue 1, now creeping into the top ten after a mixed start in the early months of the season.

Defensive resilience, a new philosophy at play at TFC? 

Martinez Novell had been known for his attacking, possession-based philosophy at the club. And it certainly worked, improving on TFC's previous 13th place finish with an 11th spot in the previous campaign. Yet, they struggled to find rhythm at the start of the season, lingering at the bottom end of mid-table. Yet now Toulouse are in much better shape than they were at the start of the season. Before the break, Carles Martinez Novell's men had won three consecutive matches without conceding a single goal.

Since the start of the season, TFC have conceded 113 shots to its 12 Ligue 1 rivals. It's the second-lowest total in the league. Only PSG faced fewer attempts (108). By way of example, Monaco conceded 114 shots, Lille 116, OM 147, Lyon 164 and Montpellier 183. They went on to concede three goals against PSG, but instantly bounced back with a win against Auxerre last weekend.

“I'm very pleased that the team understood what we wanted to put in place and that the players applied the plan," manager Martinez Novell said following last weekend's victory. "Not everything was perfect for 90 minutes, but I'm happy with our performance,” said the Toulouse coach. “We're in a good period, but it's not enough yet. It's up to us to do everything we can to continue this run."

TFC face a tough test in Monaco at home in their next Ligue 1 outing, where they'll hope to keep up their latest progress and push up the table towards the conversation for those well-coveted European spots. 

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