An impressive home win

Match reports

Paris Saint-Germain Handball beat Cesson-Rennes 34-26 at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on Sunday to continue their unbeaten run in the league. Here's our recap of the Liqui Moly StarLigue Round 13 match.

Les Rouge et Bleu played host to Cesson-Rennes on Sunday afternoon in the final match of Liqui Moly StarLigue Round 13. The capital club, who have a perfect record in the league this season, were aiming to maintain their three-point lead at the top of the table. To do so, they had to avoid the trap and win against an opponent that Raul Fernandez's men have enjoyed particular success against, having won all 20 of their head-to-head meetings.

In a tightly contested opening period, Les Rouge et Bleu made the difference from the seven-metre line, thanks in particular to a brace from Kamil (5th: 3-2). Jannick made a string of saves to back up the capital club's attack, and the Parisians maintained their lead in the opening stages (8': 6-3). As the end of the first quarter approached, the Parisians increased their lead, forcing the Brittany side to take their first time-out of the match (15th: 11-7).

Léo Villain, who had just come on as a substitute, pulled off a splendid save from a seven-metre throw, enabling his side to stay comfortably in front (19': 13-9). Although Les Irréductibles gave it everything they had, the Parisians could count on an excellent rearguard, with Léo, Jacob and Kent stopping numerous Breton attempts. Serious and diligent, Les Rouge et Bleu were clinical in attack, scoring at an 82% clip (25': 15-13). A few moments before the break, Raul Gonzalez decided to stop play for a minute. That left the capital club with one last chance and a four-point lead at the end of a perfectly controlled first half (30': 18-14).

After the break, Léo made a series of saves that allowed his side to extend their lead (35': 20-15). The Parisien youth product made his sixth save of the second half, preventing the Brittany side from scoring for seven long minutes. Just as Les Rouge et Bleu were really taking off, however, the visitors decided to take a time-out (41': 24-16). The coaching paid off for our opponents, who made up some of their deficit, forcing Raul Gonzalez to call his own time-out (45': 25-20).

The Parisians immediately got back into the game by scoring three consecutive goals, taking a decisive lead as money time approached (47': 28-20). Kamil then scored his seventh goal of the match to seal the win for Les Rouge et Bleu and put the tie beyond doubt (53': 31-24). The capital club thus secured another victory and continued their unblemished record in the Liqui Moly StarLigue this season (60': 34-26), with 13 wins from as many games. Next up, on Wednesday, is their final home match of 2023, a round-of-16 Coupe de France clash with Saran.

REACTIONS FROM RAUL GONZALEZ, ADAMA KEITA AND LÉO VILLAIN:

(Credits: L. Valroff/Team Pics/PSG)