Nine-man Lille claim victory

Lille finished with nine players on the pitch but still defeated Toulouse 2-1 to cement third place in Ligue 1.

Lille finished with nine players on the pitch but still defeated Toulouse 2-1 to cement third place in Ligue 1. Former Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou inspired the victory by helping set up the opener for Nolan Roux before firing the second from the penalty spot. In the space of a minute full-backs Franck Beria and Pape Souare were sent off, but Toulouse could not make their numerical supremacy count. It was only in the fourth minute of stoppage time that they managed to breach Lille's defence through Serge Aurier. Lille opened the scoring the 27th minute when Marvin Martin, Roux and Kalou expertly combined. Martin supplied the scoring pass to Roux who was able to beat goalkeeper Zacharie Boucher. The lead was doubled shortly before half-time, Kalou converting a penalty awarded for a foul by Etienne Didot on Franck Beria. Boucher produced a great save to deny Jonathan Delaplace before Toulouse went close through Clement Chantome. Then Lillee were dealt the hammer blow of having Beria and Souare sent off in quick succession, both for collecting second yellow cards for poor tackles with more than 20 minutes to go. But the result was already beyond doubt when Aurier finished the splendid work of Chantome to pull one back as the final whistle was about to be blown. It was an important result for Lille, who have strengthened their grip on the final Champions League place by moving six points clear of St Etienne in fourth. Toulouse remain in mid-table and are unlikely to challenge for a spot in Europe.