Ligue 1: Aboukhlal Penalty Gives Toulouse Victory at Lens

Lens' three-match unbeaten league record came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Toulouse, who capitalized on a red card to secure the win.

Toulouse secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over 10-man Lens, with a second-half penalty proving to be the decisive factor. The win marked a strong start to 2024 for Toulouse, as they continued their impressive run of form.

The match began with Lens applying early pressure, but Toulouse weathered the storm and soon found themselves creating scoring opportunities. On the quarter-hour mark, Toulouse had two quickfire chances, setting the tone for a closely contested encounter.

Toulouse launched a swift counterattack, with Josh King feeding Zakaria Aboukhlal, who seemed poised to round debutant goalkeeper Herve Koffi. However, Koffi stood firm, making a crucial save to deny Aboukhlal. Just two minutes later, Koffi was called upon again, tipping King's first-time effort around the post.

At the other end of the pitch, Guillaume Restes made a comfortable save from Przemyslaw Frankowski's strike from the edge of the box. Meanwhile, M'Bala Nzola squandered a scoring opportunity, curling his effort wide of the post just before halftime. After the break, Lens continued to pressurize Toulouse, and Florian Sotoca's vicious volley was bravely blocked by Charlie Cresswell just short of the hour mark.

The match seemed to be building towards an imminent Lens goal, but the tide turned dramatically when referee Hakim Ben El Hadj Salem handed Lens a damaging dismissal. The red card altered the flow of proceedings, shifting the momentum in Toulouse's favor.

Referee Hakim Ben El Hadj Salem initially showed a yellow card to David Pereira da Costa for a foul on Djibril Sidibe, but after consulting the VAR screen, he upgraded the call to a red card. This decision proved to be a turning point in the match, as the momentum shifted in favor of Toulouse. With Lens now down to 10 men, Toulouse sensed a genuine opportunity to secure their first away head-to-head win since March 2011.

Ten minutes after the red card, the video assistant intervened again, this time awarding Toulouse a penalty. Malang Sarr's clumsy challenge on Zakaria Aboukhlal led to the spot kick, which Aboukhlal coolly converted into the bottom corner. Despite the intense atmosphere created by the sold-out home crowd, Aboukhlal remained composed and slotted the ball past Herve Koffi.

As the match entered its final stages, Toulouse pushed for a second goal that would have sealed the win. However, Koffi's lightning-quick reactions denied Yann Gboho from close range with 10 minutes remaining. Despite a late surge from Lens, with Przemyslaw Frankowski and debutant Gabin Capuano pushing hard for an equalizer, Toulouse held on to secure the win. The result marked the end of Lens's unbeaten league record, which had stood at three matches.