Toulouse FC defeated Emirati champions Al-Ain 1-0 in a pre-season friendly at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, Spain on Wednesday evening.
Defender Gaëtan Bakhouche scored the only goal of the match shortly after the hour mark to earn a second consecutive victory for new Danish head coach Jens Berthel Askou. The French club is currently on a training camp in southern Spain from Monday, August 3 until Saturday, August 8.
The match kicked off in 35°C temperatures and proved to be a physical contest. Six yellow cards were issued during the game, including four to Al-Ain players for dissent. Toulouse players Garondo and Niklas Schmidt received yellow cards in the 60th and 90+2 minutes respectively. Al-Ain created few scoring opportunities but struck the post near the end of the match.
Second straight win in Spain
The victory comes five days after Toulouse recorded a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad in Tarbes, located in the Hautes-Pyrénées, with goals from Vignolo and Hidalgo. Those two wins follow an opening pre-season draw against Ligue 2 team Rodez.
The game's sole goal arrived in the 68th minute following a powerful run down the wing by substitute Methalie to win a corner. German midfielder Niklas Schmidt took the initial corner kick, which was cleared, before curling his second delivery to the penalty spot. Left-footed central defender Bakhouche connected with a header to send the ball under the crossbar.
Squad rotation and injury concerns
Head coach Askou made extensive changes throughout the evening. Toulouse started with Niflore in goal, behind a defense of Diallo, Koumbassa, captain Nicolaisen, and Tapé. Vossah and Casseres played in midfield, supporting an attacking unit of Vignolo, Dönnum, Yann Gboho, and Hidalgo.
At halftime, Askou brought on goalkeeper Restes for Niflore, alongside Garondo for Diallo, Francis for Vossah, Amaaouch for Dönnum, Russell-Rowe for Hidalgo, and Bakhouche. In the 61st minute, four additional substitutes entered the pitch: Methalie replaced Tapé, Bique replaced Nicolaisen, Schmidt replaced Casseres, and Dardake replaced Vignolo.
The main setback for Toulouse occurred in the 35th minute when winger Yann Gboho was forced off after being unable to accelerate. Saka replaced Gboho for the remainder of the first half and most of the second, before Frechingues substituted Saka in the 82nd minute, ten minutes from full time.
