Farès Chaïbi: 'A year ago we were in Ligue 2' | OneFootball

Toulouse FC striker Farès Chaïbi was pinching himself after scoring the winner (2-1) over Annecy to book Le Téfécé a place in the Coupe de France final - the club's first in 66 years! - against holders FC Nantes at the Stade de France on 29 April.

It has been quite the couple of seasons for Philippe Montanier's Toulouse FC, with the club's data-driven recruitment policy paying dividends as they worked their way up from Ligue 2 BKT to the middle of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats table and, now, a place the Coupe de France final.

'A waking dream' "It's amazing to think that we're headed to the Stade de France. A year ago we were in Ligue 2. We are living a waking dream," said a breathless Farès Chaïbi after bagging the winner in dramatic fashion, just four minutes before time. "We will go to the Stade de France to bring back the Coupe de France to the people of Toulouse, who follow us everywhere. We will give our all. When I scored, many things happened in my head. The first thing that came to me was the victory, the Stade de France and the fact that my team won."

Morocco star Zakaria Aboukhlal had got the ball rolling for Toulouse with a courageous near-post header (36'), but the second-tier side hit back when former Nice midfielder Alexy Bosetti struck from the spot in first-half injury time (45'+4). Penalties were looming when Chaïbi, racing into the area, beat the Annecy 'keeper to an ill-judged back-pass and conjured a deft flick that gave Montanier's side a chance to cap their promotion season with silverware - and a return to European football. 'The most important goal of my young career'

Of course Toulouse still have to get past holders Nantes the final at the Stade de France on 29 April, but there is no question that Chaïbi's strike could prove a massively important one for the club. "I don't know if it's the goal of a lifetime, but it's the most important goal of my young career," said the Algeria international. "I'm proud to have scored it for the whole team and the people of Toulouse. The locker room exploded! It was a crazy thing but we quickly came down because we want to win the Coupe and we have a bad run to break in the Championship starting this weekend." Indeed, the TFC are coming off five defeats in their last six outings and will doubtless be happy of this shot in the arm ahead of their league trip to face Montpellier on Sunday, when the 13th-placed side will have a chance to build on their nine-point gap above the drop zone.

>> Coupe de France: Blas screamer fires holders Nantes into final