Toulouse wallop Nantes to lift Coupe de France
Toulouse cruised past holders Nantes 5-1 on Saturday night to claim the Coupe de France for the first time since 1957.
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Logan Costa opened the scoring in the fourth minute.
The 22-year-old Cape Verde international rose to power home Branco Van den Boomen's corner from the right. It was his first goal of the season.
Six minutes later, Costa bagged his brace when he nodded in Stijn Spierings cross.
Nantes, who beat Nice in the 2022 final, almost came back immediately but Mostafa Mohamed's shot was hacked off the line by Gabriel Suazo after the Toulouse goalkeeper Kjetil Haug flapped at a corner.
Minutes later after a turn at saviour, Suazo became the provider.
The 25-year-old Chilean surged forward down the left wing and curled a pass into the path of Thijs Dallinga who lobbed the Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont to increase the advantage.
Cruise control
At 3-0 up, the Toulouse fans in the Stade de France began singing the French national anthem.
And their lusty rendition of La Marseillaise was amply rewarded on the half hour mark when Dallinga scored his second goal.
Predictably, the second-half descended into a procession as a witless Nantes failed to worry the Toulouse rearguard.
Ludovic Blas, who scored the winner against Nice, converted a penalty 15 minutes from time to reduce the deficit to 4-1 and lend a touch of respectability to the scoreline.
But Zakaria Aboukhlal thrashed in from the edge of the box to add the icing on the cake.
It was the most comprehensive victory in a Coupe de France final since 1970 when Saint-Etienn annihilated Nantes 5-0.
"It's incredible," Toulouse midfielder Farès Chaibi told French broadcaster France 2.
"It's my first season as a professional and to win the Coupe de France ... it's a dream come true."
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