Having fallen to a gut-wrenching defeat at Lyon on Sunday, Liam Rosenior’s side looked determined to start on the front foot against Auxerre. Le Racing dominated possession early on, and they should’ve taken a ninth-minute lead, only for Joaquin Panichelli to blaze wastefully over the bar from close range.
Armed with the momentum, the hosts continued to probe for a breakthrough as the first half progressed. Wasteful finishing in the final third proved to be problematic, though, with Panichelli seeing another close-range effort superbly thwarted by Donovan Leon.
Andrew Omobamidele and Sebastian Nanasi spurned further opportunities for Strasbourg before the break, as the visitors’ rearguard made it through to the break somehow unscathed.
After a frustrating opening period, Le Racing needed just a minute to break the deadlock in the second half, as Panichelli latched onto a pass from Nanasi and finished coolly beyond Léon for his 10th goal of the season. Having finally breached the Auxerre backline, the hosts stamped their authority on proceedings with two further goals in the space of six minutes.
First, Nanasi converted from Valentín Barco’s cutback to net his first of the campaign, before the Argentine got on the scoresheet himself with a sublime angled finish after Leon had parried Diego Moreira’s initial effort.
That three-goal flurry all but ended the match as a contest, with Martial Godo and Kendry Páez both going close to a late fourth for the hosts, who coasted through the closing stages to secure a sixth H2H win in seven meetings.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Valentin Barco (Strasbourg)