Le Havre stun Strasbourg to avoid relegation
Coming back twice from a goal down, Le Havre stunned RC Strasbourg on the road, 3-2, a result that helps the Normandy side avoid the drop. Abdoulaye Touré scored twice from the penalty spot, including in the ninth minute of added time to seal the result.
A nervy start
With both teams eager to secure their respective aims -- European football for Strasbourg and safety for Le Havre, the match started at a cautious pace. Racing were missing leading scorer Emanuel Emegha through injury, and without the pacy Dutchman in the side, their domination of the ball came to little. As for Le Havre, they showed their characteristic solidity, ceding little to the hosts.
When Strasbourg did have chances, they struggled to put them away at first, with Sékou Mara missing a glorious opportunity just before midway through the second half after a sublime through ball by Félix Lemaréchal. Le Havre's luck in keeping the hosts at bay would soon change, though, as after a sustained spell of pressure, Andrey Santos -- captain on the evening -- netted from Sebastian Nanasi's corner. Le Havre would respond, though, forcing a fine save from Djordje Petrovic on the half hour before Touré evenutally leveled the match from the spot just before the interval.
What. A. Finish. 🤯
⏱️ 95’: HAC set for the relegation play-off
⏱️ 97’: Penalty awarded to HAC
⏱️ 98’: Touré scores a Panenka
⏱️ FT: Le Havre stays in Ligue 1 pic.twitter.com/CLN8qIpg2Z— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) May 17, 2025
Le Havre show their determination
After the break, Strasbourg steeled themselves and took the game to their opponents once more, their pressure telling as Nanasi took advantage of a loose ball at the back to give Racing the lead once more. With Nantes winning in their match, though, Le Havre knew that a loss or even a draw wouldn't be enough to avoid the relegation playoff. They thought they had taken the first step towards a result, but Ahmed Hassan's goal was ruled out by VAR just after midway through the break.
Just moment later, though, there was no mistake as Josué Casimir took advantage of a fine ball over the top from Issa Soumaré to level the match once more. Both managers made a raft of changes, looking for something to change the match, but the outcome would turn on a penalty awarded in the fifth minute of stoppage time, as Andrew Omobamidele brought down a Le Havre player. Up stepped Touré, who sealed the result with his second penalty of the match, beating Petrovic with a panenka as the Norman side edged ahead of Reims and out of the bottom three.
The stat: 8
Abdoulaye Touré has scored eight times from the penalty spot this season -- a figure second in Europe only to Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane.
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