PLAYER RATINGS | Lille 2-1 Toulouse: Ethan Mbappé caps late rescue act | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Matchday 4, 14/09/25

Lille OSC would secure all three points against ten-man Toulouse FC with a late rescue act as goals from Nabil Bentaleb and Ethan Mbappé cancelled out Frank Magri’s second-half strike.

The Match

As expected, Lille dominated possession in front of their home crowd. The red shirts looked to keep the ball contained within the Toulouse half, which was helped by the visitors’ insistence on playing out from the back. Lille were allowed to press high, with the soon-to-be 39-year-old Olivier Giroud proving that age is just a number as he led the line.

Lille wracked up chances, registering 12 shots, pinging the ball into the Toulouse box, but struggled to threaten Guillaume Restes with only one finding the target. The best moment of the half would fall to Ngal’ayel Mukau, with Romain Perraud spotting his late run into the box and tucking an inviting cross towards him. However, Mukau’s shot was poor and the ball flew over the bar.

Injuries have racked Lille’s defence this season, and they would suffer another before the end of the half when Alexsandro was forced off the pitch. The defender, minutes after suffering a clash of heads, pulled up short off the ball and was replaced by Chancel Mbemba. Alexsandro had been a surprise pick for this match, considering Bruno Génésio had warned of injury concerns following his recent return from international duty with Brazil.

Like in their last match before the international break (where they scored seven goals in the second half against Lorient), Lille came back from the break with more venom to their play. Perruad, once again lively, found Giroud in the box, the striker firing low and to the left, forcing Restes into a reflex save. However, it was Toulouse that would that would draw first blood.

Yann Gboho fired from distance, his shot was redirected on by centre-back Charlie Cresswell. The Englishman’s header was tipped onto the crossbar by Berke Özer’s diving save. The Lille keeper fell to the floor as the rebound fell to Frank Magri, the striker headed into the open net to register his second of the season.

Lille brought on their summer signing Hamza Igamane for Mukau; the former Rangers man seemed to have an immediate impact when Lille broke on the counter. Félix Correia found his fellow summer signing releasing him into space. Igamane strode forward, accompanied by Matias Fernandez-Pardo, but took the shot instead. His shot was weak and rolled towards his teammate, who finished, but from an offside position.

Toulouse would have to play out the final ten minutes with ten men when VAR advised the referee to review the substitute Alexis Vossah’s late studs-up tackle on Benjamin André. The referee swiftly upgraded the yellow card to a red. VAR would be at the rescue again for Lille when it spotted Rasmus Nicolaisen’s handball in the box. The substitute Nabil Bentaleb grabbed the ball and, after a lengthy wait, levelled the scores from the spot.

It would be another substitute that would prove to be the hero when Ethan Mbappé latched onto Osame Sahraoui’s cross in the eighth minute of added time. The younger brother of his more famous sibling didn’t bother taking a touch as he finished on the volley to score his first Ligue 1 goal, netting the winner, and breaking Toulouse’s hearts.

Lille Player Ratings

Berke Özer – 6

Romain Perraud – 7

He looks to be an excellent signing. The former Southampton man was constantly looking to find his teammates in the box, and was let down by some errant finishing. He had a really good game.

Alexsandro – 5

Replaced in the first half by Chancel Mbemba (5).

Nathan Ngoy – 5

Aïssa Mandi – 5

Ngal’ayel Mukau – 4

A bit of a disappointing performance from the midfielder. He wasn’t able to get into the game, and when he was given a chance to give Lille the lead, he snatched at the opportunity and fluffed his shot. There wasn’t too much surprise that he was taken off with his team chasing the game. Replaced by Hamza Igamane in the 61st minute.

Benjamin André – 6

Félix Correia – 6

Replaced by Osame Sahraoui in the 81st minute.

Ayyoub Bouaddi – 4

Replaced by Nabil Bentaleb in the 81st minute.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo – 4

Replaced by Ethan Mbappé in the 81st minute.

Olivier Giroud – 5

An effective performance, even if he was unable to find himself on the scoresheet. His work out of possession remains very good and was part of why Lille could create such a suffocating first-half performance. He also had a few dangerous moments, which he will likely wish he had done better with.

Toulouse Player Ratings

Guillaume Restes – 6

The goalkeeper generally had a good performance and was able to snuff out Lille’s attempts until the penalty. Restes will be annoyed that he allowed the penalty past him, especially since it was low and he guessed the correct side that Bentaleb would pick.

Rasmus Nicolaisen – 3

It was a solid performance from the Toulouse backline for the majority of the match. However, the captain let the side down with his handball. The Toulouse players told the referee what they thought of the decision after the match, but it was a key moment which allowed Lille back into the game.

Charlie Cresswell – 6

Mark McKenzie – 5

Dayann Methalie – 5

Replaced by Dijbril Sidibé in the 89th minute.

Cristian Cásseres Jr. – 6

Abu Francis – 6

Replaced by Alexis Vossah in the 72nd minute.

Aron Dønnum – 5

The wing-back/winger has always been a frustrating player for Toulouse, as he has all the potential to be one of their most threatening players. His movement and reading of the game are excellent, and it often allows him to be in dangerous areas. He had a couple of great chances when the score was 1-0 to double the lead, but again, his finishing was not up to standard.

Yann Gboho – 5

Frank Magri – 5

Replaced by Mário Sauer in the 89th minute.

Santiago Hidalgo – 5

Replaced by Rafik Messali in the 55th minute (who was in turn replaced by Warren Kamanzi in the 72nd minute).

GFFN | Nick Hartland