Valenciennes have started the 2013-14 Ligue 1 campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Toulouse, who failed to recover from having a man sent off in the first half.
Toulouse left Etienne Capoue out of their 18-man squad for the match as he talks terms over a move to Tottenham Hotspur, with the visitors struggling to establish sustained possession early on.
The game's decisive incident took place on 34 minutes when Uros Spajic conceded a penalty for a last-ditch challenge inside the area.
Spajic received a straight card for the late tackle and Valenciennes took full advantage to open the scoring through Maor Melikson, who slammed home his penalty to break the deadlock.
Valenciennes doubled their advantage shortly after the break as Jose Saez reacted quickest to find the corner after Toulouse failed to clear a corner kick.
Wissam Ben Yedder continued to work hard in attack for Toulouse, but was unable to stop Valenciennes claiming three points as Gregory Puyol added a third for the home side in stoppage time.
Liam Power
