While they thought they would snatch a draw on the Benfica Lisbon pitch this Thursday in the first leg of the Europa League play-off, the Toulouse residents were crucified by a penalty from Angel Di Maria in the final moments of the match (2-1). Christian Mawissa was also sent off.
Toulouse was however so close to bringing back a result from Lisbon. Coming back to the level of Benfica in the 75th minute of play on a goal from Mikkel Desler, seven minutes after Angel Di Maria opened the scoring from the penalty spot (68th), the TFC finally gave in in the last seconds of their first leg play-off of the Europa League this Thursday evening (2-1).
>> Relive Benfica Lisbon-Toulouse (2-1)
Red card and penalty
At the end of added time, the young Christian Mawissa (18 years old) was guilty of a sole in his area on Marcos Leonardo. Already warned a little earlier in the game, the Toulouse defender received a second yellow card and was sent off. Behind, while we were playing 90+8, Angel Di Maria was quick to score his second penalty of the evening and offer victory to the Portuguese club.
After beating Liverpool in the group stage, Toulouse was not far from standing up to another big name in European football. Even if the scenario is cruel, the Violets still have hope of qualifying for the return match. At the Stadium, in just a week, the Haut-Garonnais will “only” have one goal to go back to continue dreaming in this European Cup.