Toulouse one step away from maintaining Ligue 1 status

PARIS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Toulouse boosted their hope of staying in Ligue 1 next term as they beat Ajaccio 3-0 in the first leg of promotion/relegation playoff on Wednesday.

The match was ruled to be played in Montpellier behind closed doors following a series of incidents at Ajaccio's home stadium on May 20.

Max Gradel opened Toulouse's scoring before the interval with his high-quality free-kick going beyond the helpless goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca.

Toulouse still got the upper hand in the second half and didn't wait long for their second goal. Center half Christopher Jullien volleyed home Giannelli Imbula's corner at the near post on 51 minutes, before former Arsenal player Yaya Sanogo wrapped up the match in the 65th minute.

Toulouse will play the second leg at home on Sunday.

Troyes and Metz were already relegated to the second division next season. Enditem