PLAYER RATINGS | Toulouse 2-1 Saint-Étienne: Zakaria Aboukhlal adds finishing touches to comeback victory

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 15, 13/12/2024

The first half of Ligue 1’s opener for the 15th weekend will likely be forgotten by Toulouse FC and AS Saint-Étienne fans, but the game sparked to life in the second half. The hosts fought back to win 2-1 against a Les Verts side that dominated possession but struggled to create many chances. 

The Match

Toulouse came into the game as the heavy favourites against a Saint-Étienne team that have struggled to adjust to life back in the top flight. Les Verts controlled a far better share of the ball in the first half, but Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men did very little with their possession. 

The hosts marshalled them effectively and didn’t allow their visitors a shot in the first half. Zuriko Davitashivili’s freekick came closest to causing trouble when it entered a dangerous area but the ball was intercepted well by Charlie Cresswell before the goalkeeper Guillaume Restes could become involved. 

While Toulouse looked the more effective side and were able to get into threatening positions, they likewise were unable to trouble the Les Verts’ goal and Gautier Larsonneur did not face a single shot on target. 

A good ball from Aron Dønnum found Zakaria Aboukhlal as he slipped past the Saint-Étienne backline. The winger shifted the ball past Larsonneur but was quickly muscled out of the way. The stadium demanded a penalty, but there was none to come as the halftime whistle blew. 

The game burst alive in the second half as Dønnum took retribution for Pierre Cornud’s heavy tackle on Cristian Cásseres Jr. causing a bust-up between the teams which saw Joshua King and Yunis Abdelhamid both receive yellows. The gloves were off and Saint-Étienne lay the first blow. 

In the 53rd minute, Dennis Appiah was released down the right. The wing-back spotted the run of Lucas Stassin who raced to gain possession and calmly fire home for his first in Les Verts’ colours. Three minutes later, Gabriel Suazo flew an inviting cross to the far post which Shavy Babicka headed home. 

The match would be settled late into the evening when Zakaria Aboukhlal guided Niklas Schmidt’s cross underneath Larsonneur’s legs. It felt cruel on Les Verts to lose it so late into the game but Toulouse had been the marginally better side.

Toulouse Player Ratings

Guillaume Restes – 6

Mark McKenzie – 5

Charlie Cresswell – 8

Impressive evening for the Englishman. He was dominant in his 1v1s and was effective at picking out the ball in the air to deny Saint-Étienne chances to feed Lucas Stassin with any regularity. 

Kalidou Sidibé – 6

Gabriel Suazo – 6

Vincent Sierro – 6

Cristian Cásseres Jr. – 6

Aron Dønnum – 7

The most lively player in the first half. He looked to be in constant motion and when he was on the ball he looked a threat. His final pass and shot needs some work but it feels like his wait for a first goal could be coming to an end. 

Zakaria Aboukhlal – 7

A fairly quiet evening for the winger. He had the most dangerous moment in the first half but was outmuscled by Batubinsika. He however more than made up for that with his involvement in the second goal. The winger was unselfish when needed which gave his team the time to spread the play and then find him for the finish. 

Joshua King – 4

Shavy Babicka – 6

Saint-Étienne Player Ratings

Gautier Larsonneur – 5

Léo Petrot – 5

Yunis Abdelhamid – 4

Dylan Batubinsika – 5

The centre-back did a lot of good work in the game. He was strong in a number of challenges, but he and Appiah were quite easily beaten for the winning goal. The problem for Saint-Étienne is that the substitutes in midfield looked shaky which caused a lot of pressure on the defence. 

Pierre Cornud – 5

Louis Mouton – 6

Pierre Ekwah – 5

Benjamin Bouchouari – 6

Dennis Appiah – 6

Zuriko Davitashvili – 4

The Georgian international often looks like the most creative player on the pitch for Saint-Étienne but it was another quiet evening. This was particularly highlighted by the fact that ASSE had so much of the ball, but Davitashvili generally did not do much with it. 

Lucas Stassin – 6

It was another night where the striker looked isolated. However, on this night Stassin finally found his name on the scoresheet. His score is perhaps a little inflated by the fact that he registered a goal, but the way he took his opportunity was encouraging. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland