The grand finale of the Coupe De France saw Nantes and Toulouse battle for pride and honour in the biggest cup competition in France.
Anticipation, Passion and expectation was all on center stage as two Titans clashed but it ended in a smashing victory for the Les Violets as their opposition La Maison Jaune couldn’t match their intensity.
Toulouse hammered holders Nantes 5-1 in the French Cup final after scoring four first-half goals at the Stade de France to secure the club’s first major trophy on Saturday.
Defender Logan Costa and striker Thijs Dallinga both netted twice inside the opening 31 minutes, with forward Zakaria Aboukhlal adding a fifth in the second half.
Nantes had won successive finals in 1999 and 2000.Toulouse’s only previous trophies came from winning Ligue 2 on three occasions, 2022 being the last time.
The French Cup victory also secured Toulouse a place in the Europa League, their first competition in Europe since 2009-10.
The Violets went ahead in the fourth minute through Costa and he quickly doubled their lead six minutes later with another header.
Toulouse who were beaten 3-1 by Nantes in their only league clash so far this season, were soon three goals in front after Gabriel Suazo teed up Dallinga by supplying a stunning cross into the box for the Dutchman to score with a chipped finish.
Dallinga then made it 4-0 just after the half-hour mark when he netted from close range from a rebound.
Nantes, who are without a Ligue 1 win since mid-February and have yet to secure their top-flight status for next season, made three half-time changes, introducing forwards Andy Delort and Ignatius Ganago with midfielder Samuel Moutoussamy.
They managed to pull a goal back with a penalty as midfielder Ludovic Blas fired into the roof of the net 15 minutes from time but Toulouse’s Aboukhlal wrapped up a one-sided victory by smashing home their fifth from distance. It was sort of a revenge match for Toulouse.
The teams Nantes and Toulouse defeated in the quarter-final and Semi-final to get to the final!
Nantes, who are only outside the drop zone on goal difference, had a fine run to the final having beaten Lens 2-1 in the quarterfinals and Lyon 1-0 in the semis.
Toulouse, 12th in the French top tier, beat Ligue 2 sides Rodez and Annecy in the quarters and semis respectively.
Nantes were defending champions of the competition prior to Saturday but they were annihilated by the current champions in emphatic fashion.
The manager of Nantes, Antoine Kombouare would now turn the attention of his boys on the Ligue 1 as they seek to avoid relegating to the second division, they have amassed the same number of points as 17th placed Brest.
For Philippe Montainer’s side, Toulouse, they would continue to bask in the joy of winning their first major title alongside having an eye on finishing strongly in the Ligue 1 as they sit 9 points away from the relegation zone with 6 games to go.
