Toulouse take 24 shots and lose 0-1 as Ayase Ueda settles it for Lille

Twenty-four shots, ten of them on target, five big chances missed and one effort off the woodwork. That was Toulouse's night at the Stadium, and it still finished 0-1.

Lille needed far less. Ayase Ueda turned one of only ten Lille shots into the goal that mattered, in the 73rd minute, and a defence built around nine saves from the visiting goalkeeper did the rest.

Territory without a return

Toulouse controlled 53.5% of possession and won the duel count only 36-51 — Lille's efficiency in the physical battles mattered more than the hosts' extra time on the ball. The gulf was biggest in front of goal: Toulouse missed five clear chances and still could not beat a keeper who made nine stops.

The pattern repeats itself

This was the third matchday in a row in which Toulouse produced more shots than the opponent and had less to show for it. They opened the season with 17 shots and only two on target in a 0-2 loss to Lyon, then somehow needed just six shots to score twice in a 2-2 draw at Brest — both of their attempts on target went in. Against Lille the ratio flipped back the other way: 24 shots, ten on target, and still nothing.

Toulouse have also shown a habit of not holding a lead. At Brest, Jacen Russell-Rowe put them 1-0 up in the ninth minute and Christ Tapé restored a 2-1 lead in the 62nd; both times the hosts pulled level, the second time in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Add the three matchdays together and the numbers tell the same story from a different angle: 47 shots, 14 of them on target, and only two goals to show for it. Toulouse have taken one point from a possible nine and sit 17th in the table, with the shot count never once the problem.

Lille's near miss

Lille's own three matchdays read tidier than they felt while they were happening. Olivier Giroud and Tiago Santos scored inside the opening half hour to beat Angers 2-0 on the opening day, in Davide Ancelotti's first Ligue 1 match in charge. A fortnight later they led PSG 2-0 at the Pierre-Mauroy with six minutes to go, only for Vitinha and Marquinhos to score in stoppage time and turn what looked like a statement win into a 2-2 draw.

Beating Toulouse without conceding put that result behind them. Lille are unbeaten through three matchdays, level on seven points with Lyon and Paris FC, and it is goal difference alone — plus three against their plus four — that keeps them in the Champions League qualifying place instead of one of the automatic spots. It is also Davide Ancelotti's best possible start on the bench: three matches into his first Ligue 1 job, he has not lost one, and Ayase Ueda's winner at the Stadium came from a Lille side that managed only ten shots to Toulouse's 24 and still walked away with all three points.

Match facts

• 73' — Ayase Ueda (Lille)

What's next

Toulouse stay 17th on 1 point after three matchdays, in the relegation play-off zone. Lille climb to 4th on 7 points, level with three sides above them but behind on goal difference, sitting in the Champions League qualifying place ahead of Matchday 4.