Toulouse comes from behind to beat Saint-Etienne

TOULOUSE, France — Toulouse came from behind at home to beat Saint-Etienne 2-1 in a scrappy match that left the visitor stuck in the Ligue 1 relegation zone on Friday.

Saint-Etienne has struggled in its first season back in the top tier but it took the lead with a nicely worked opener.

Dennis Appiah’s inviting cross after 53 minutes gave Lucas Stassin his first goal for the club.

However, Saint-Etienne’s lead lasted only a minute.

Almost straight from the kickoff, Toulouse pushed forward and Shavy Babicka stooped to head home a cross from the left.

The home side was on top throughout and offered more of an attacking threat. It got the win it deserved five minutes from time when Zakaria Aboukhlal made amends for an earlier miss by nodding home from close range.

Toulouse rose two places into eighth, while Saint-Etienne stayed third from the bottom.