At the Toulouse Stadium,
Sometimes you have to admit your ignorance. We do not know, for example, whether the popularity of Michel Blanc crossed the Channel and the Rhine. And we cannot therefore say if the Reds and their German coach Jürgen Klopp grasped the reference of the Indians Tolosa, this Thursday evening, just before the kick-off of the Europa League match at the Stadium. The TFC ultras displayed the giant portrait of Jean-Claude Dusse, flanked by one of the favorite replicas of the antihero of the Tanned people go skiing : “On a misunderstanding, it can work. »
On the other hand, we are sure of one thing: Carles Martinez Novell’s hope has come true. The Spanish technician announced on Wednesday: “Liverpool must remember the Stadium. » And indeed, the third in the Premier League are not about to forget their experience in the den of the 14th in Ligue 1, which remained on three defeats, the last on Sunday at home against Le Havre, direct competitor for maintenance ( 1-2).
Were the English surprised by the fervor of the 2,400 Toulouse supporters who had gathered at Anfield two weeks earlier, despite the beating received by their favorites (5-1)? They must have been amazed by the exceptional support given to the winner of the last Coupe de France on Thursday evening, in an enclosure filled to the sky (32,026 people, to be exact).
“A historic evening” for the TFC
Since their Brice-Taton turn, the Indians set the tone, from start to finish, in a contagious enthusiasm which carried the exemplary captain Vincent Sierro and his teammates towards the greatest European exploit of the TFC since the antediluvian victory against Diego Maradona’s Naples (1-0), 37 years ago. “It’s a historic evening, for the club, the city, the players,” said Martinez Novell, much more inspired in his coaching than in recent matches.
According to stats from our partner SofascoreLiverpool posted 71% possession, completed 512 passes compared to 153 in Toulouse and shot 19 times compared to 11. But the Reds, with a starting team that we will modestly describe as mixed (just like in the first leg, which had not stopped them from winning while whistling), fell.
And this, despite Klopp’s attempt to reproduce the “bomb squad” effect off the bench, so effective among South African rugby players during the last World Cup. However, “Mo” Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Szobozlai, launched as a unit and much earlier than expected upon returning from the locker room, at 1-0 for Toulouse, did not prevent the defeat.
Long sluggish on the pitch, the spectacle got in tune with the public in the second period, with four goals validated by the Bulgarian referee M. Kabakov. And a last one refused to the young central defender of the Reds Jarell Quansah after recourse to VAR, at the very end of added time (90th + 7), for a handball from Alexis Mac Allister at the start of the action. “This third Liverpool goal finally canceled makes this evening even more epic,” notes Martinez Novell.
A very confusing end to the match
Which began to tremble when the opposing luxury substitute – yet another – Diogo Jota reduced the score to 3-2 on the edge of added time. “I see the action because I’m facing him, I know there’s a hand,” adds Frank Magri, author of the 3-1 in the 76th minute, shortly after coming into play. The Cameroonian striker from Tef’ nevertheless admits to having found himself “in doubt” before the delivery, at the end of “a lot of suspense” (and a few yellow cards distributed due to the ambient nervousness).
We do not know what Mac Allister had to say on this subject since the 2022 world champion only stopped at the microphone of a Spanish-speaking journalist (like Darwin Nuñez just before him) to discuss… the next Argentina – Uruguay on the 17th november. It’s always better than their colleagues who rushed through the mixed zone to get to their bus as quickly as possible, in the unlikely event that it leaves without them.
A few minutes earlier, Klopp had given his opinion and, without too much surprise, it was different from that of Toulouse. “For me, the ball hits the chest, I didn’t see the contact with the arm to be honest,” assured the German. Maybe the referee saw an image that I didn’t have. There could also have been a penalty for us. » We don’t really know what action the Reds manager wanted to talk about.
But Klopp still admitted: “We should have been better in place, more aggressive, we have to accept defeat, it’s deserved. » These will be his last words at a press conference, organized in a marquee erected on the square in front of the Stadium, inherited from the recent Rugby World Cup.
The Big Top of Anger
The one who said the day before that he was “impatient” to see “the exceptional supporters” of the TFC at work, then had only one desire: to leave the place, Toulouse and France, such was the noise of certain purple fans, who were singing outside while banging on a wall of the temporary building, annoyed him and covered up his remarks.
“Who had the idea of holding the press conference there? » said the German, exasperated. We would have liked to explain to him that the usual dedicated room inside the Stadium was far too cramped compared to the evening media crowd, but we felt that it was not necessarily the time to talk to him about that. . Nor to offer him a quiz on Tanned people go skiing.