Frank Magri scores again but Strasbourg pick maximum points in comeback

Indomitable Lions of Cameroon forward Frank Magri scored for the fourth consecutive game in a row but wasn’t enough as his club Toulouse FC suffered a defeat away to Strasbourg.

RC Strasbourg came from behind to defeat Toulouse 2-1 at Stade de la Meinau, recording a ninth victory in their last 13 Ligue 1 outings to stay hot on the heels of the top six places.

Strasbourg’s 1-0 win over Nantes last weekend made it five matches without defeat, as they kept a fifth successive clean sheet for the first time since 1984. And Le Racing must have thought they had made the perfect start in front of their supporters with only two minutes on the clock, when Ghanaian Samuel Amo-Ameyaw’s through ball played Emanuel Emegha in, but the in-form striker’s first-time left-footed effort came back off the right post.

Having gone agonisingly close to taking the lead, Strasbourg suddenly found themselves behind two minutes later. Yann Gboho slipped inside the box and released an effort on goal that was saved by Đorđe Petrović, but the rebound fell kindly for Frank Magri, who made no mistake by rolling the ball into an empty net from close range to give Toulouse the lead.

From there up to half-time, Les Violets played with the confidence of a side that had recorded successive 4-0 away victories, and took a deserved lead into the break.

Liam Rosenior will have had some stern words for his team during the break, and whatever he said worked wonders, as Strasbourg completed the turnaround in the opening nine minutes of the second half. Shortly after the restart, Diego Moreira’s cross into the area picked out the unmarked Félix Lemaréchal, who directed his header into the net from close range to draw Strasbourg level. Then it was the turn of Lemaréchal to turn provider, as he laid the ball off to Andrey Santos 25 yards from goal, and the midfielder’s rasping first-time effort flew in off the left post to leave Toulouse stunned.

Gboho was Toulouse’s main goal threat as they searched for an equaliser, but Petrović was equal to whatever he tried as the hosts negotiated the closing stages well to record yet another victory, and duly climb to within one place and one point of the European places. As for Toulouse, they have now won just one of their last 15 Ligue 1 head-to-heads, and remain stuck in 10th, having missed out on the opportunity to close the gap to Le Racing to just three points.

Having scored in four consecutive games for Toulouse, Magri as he flies into Cameroon tomorrow morning to focus his attention on the two FIFA World cup qualifiers matches scheduled for later this month against Eswatini and Libya which coach Marc Brys will be counting on his output to earn Cameroon’s ticket to the ninth global soccer jamboree.