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Last season's surprise-package Lille are still struggling to find their rhythm after being held to a goalless draw at home to Toulouse.
The Week 5 fixture was brought forward because of a bike race at Lille's adopted Stade Villeneuve D'Ascq home on Saturday, but it almost seemed as if the cyclists had turned up too early given the dullness of the sporting fare on offer in the first half.
Ivory Coast midfielder Abdul Kader Keita was lively on his first start for the northerners, but his teammates were unable to turn their territorial advantage into any sort of concrete threat to trouble Toulouse's central defensive pairing of Dominique Arribagé and Lucien Aubey.
Swiss newcomer Daniel Gygax showed some imagination with a clever backheel to Hicham Aboucherouane on 22 minutes, but Mathieu Debuchy arrived too late to make any use of the Moroccan forward's dangerous ball across the face of the Toulouse goal.
In Lille's defence, though, the visitors were even less inspired, with only Achille Emana making himself visible with a couple of surging runs that may have impressed Gérard Houllier.
The Lyon Coach had made the trip specifically to run the rule over the 23-year-old Cameroonian, although what Feyenoord under-21 Coach Tony Adams was doing there next to him is anyone's guess.
Keita and Gygax remained the hosts' most inspired players after the break, with Keita having a shot from six metres out deflected wide by Daniel Congré, and Gygax volleying just past the post on 57 minutes.
Lille Coach Claude Puel brought on teenage striker Kevin Mirallas for Aboucherouane and moved Gygax out to the left, and less than a minute later he looked to have struck gold. The Swiss international whipped in a cross from out wide which Mirallas powered goalwards with his head, only for Toulouse goalkeeper Christophe Revault to palm his effort over the bar.
Puel began to lose his temper on the touchline as the clock ran down, but things could have been much worse for the former Monaco boss when Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro found himself through on Tony Sylva's goal in stoppage-time.
Instead of handing Toulouse an unlikely victory, the 20-year-old lost his nerve and fired straight into the Lille No 1's arms.
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