Toulouse hold firm with home win over Strasbourg
RC Strasbourg became the second European team in a row to drop points against Toulouse FC in Ligue 1 McDonald's, as Les Violets beat the Alsatians 1-0 at home on Saturday evening. Catch up on all the action in our match report.
No emegha, no problem?
After a chastening result against Brest last weekend (a 2-1 loss), it was time for RC Strasbourg to rebound away to a Toulouse team who have shown flashes this season but came into this encounter winless in six matches. To do so, however, manager Liam Rosenior would have to make do without a host of key players, including captain (and last season's leading scorer) Emanuel Emegha, suspended for some unwise comments in the media. With Valentin Barco ill as well, the visitors lined up with a much-changed eleven, and one which would struggle to get to grips with a physically aggressive home team.
From the outset, Racing dominated possession, but there appeared to be little synchrony among the visitors' three attacking players, and the first chance would fall to the hosts, as Emersonn tested Mike Penders from range, forcing a diving save from the Belgian (10'). The hosts' luck would improve a few minutes later, though. Following some strong pressing from Djibril Sidibe, Ben Chilwell lost the ball and the Brazilian pounced to score for the second match running, having netted in last weekend's draw against Marseille as well. That scoreline would hold until the interval, with Les Violets good value for their lead, as their solidity was in full effect.
EMERSONN IS ON FIRE! 🇧🇷🔥 pic.twitter.com/sHtAJYIuCO
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) December 6, 2025
A COMPOSED display from the hosts
That solidity would continue to be the case in the second half. Despite Rosenior making a raft of changes in the game's second stanza, there was little joy for the Alsatians. Strong play from Charlie Cresswell and Mark McKenzie limited the visitors' efforts to the odd free kick and corner, proving good value for Carles MartĂnez Novell's coaching acumen. Julio Enciso had looked for a penalty just before full time, but Racing got no further than that, and slumped to their fourth defeat in five in Ligue 1 McDonald's.
As for Toulouse, who have lost just once in their last six, they move into the top half of the table, just two points behind the evening's opponent and three behind AS Monaco, allowing them to dream of a push for Europe on the back of their continued improvement ahead of next weekend's trip to face Paris FC.
The stat: 72.1
RC Strasbourg had more than seventy percent possession, but finished the match without a single shot on target.
