An incredible European campaign

After the EHF Champions League season drew to a close with Barcelona's triumph, let's take a look back at the campaign from Raul Gonzalez's side.

A TOUGH GROUP

Even before the competition began, Paris had been warned. The presence of four-time champions Kiel and two-time finalists Kielce in the capital club's group promised to spice up the group phase. These two giants were joined by Hungarians Szeged and Croatian outift Zagreb, who boast a number of talented youngsters. Finalists in 2021, Denmark's Aalborg, now led by Mikkel Hansen, were outsiders with big ambitions, while Kolstad and Pelister were brand-new to the competition.

A POSITIVE START

Les Rouge et Bleu got off to a flying start in the electric atmosphere of Szeged's Pick Arena on Matchday 1. After a real battle, Raul Gonzalez's men got the better of their Hungarian counterparts (29-31). It was a welcome first victory before the next game at Coubertin against Zagreb (35-31), thanks in particular to fine performances from Kamil Syprzak (eight goals) and Luc Steins (seven goals).

Les Rouge et Bleu suffered their first defeat of the season on hostile ground against Hala Legionow in Kielce on Matchday 3, despite a valiant fightback (30-29). That setback was redeemed, however, when they took on North Macedonian side Pelister (31-26). The Parisians found themselves in third place behind Kiel, who had a perfect record, and Kolstad, who had caused some early upsets.

Paris Saint-Germain followed up their home win over Aalborg (33-30) with a perfectly controlled encounter in front of a boisterous home crowd. Be it in attack, with eight goals from Elohim Prandi, or in defence, with ten saves from Andreas Palicka, Les Rouge et Bleu pulled out all the stops against the Danish side led by former Parisian Mikkel, who scored seven goals.

A DIFFICULT PERIOD

After a good start to the campaign, staying level on points with Kiel and Kolstad at the top of the group, the capital club went through a long slump, which reshuffled all the cards in a particularly evenly matched Group A. Beaten successively by Kiel (28-34) and Kolstad (36-31), Paris were fourth at the end of the first half of the group stage. Les Rouge et Bleu began the return leg against the Norwegians with a spirit of revenge, but were held to a frustrating draw at Coubertin (28-28) despite the spectacular duel between Elo' and former Parisian Sander Sagosen, each of whom scored ten goals.

After a narrow 26-24 defeat in Kiel, Raul Gonzalez's men halted their downward spiral at Aalborg (30-32), ending the calendar year on a positive note. At the winter break, only two points separated Aalborg, runners-up to Kiel, and Zagreb in seventh place and the first club outside the play-off qualification zone.

BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT

More than two months after their victory in Aalborg, Paris made a perfect return to action against Pelister (25-31), who were forced to taste defeat for the 11th time in as many games. Our club then redoubled its intensity in the clash with Kielce at Coubertin (35-26). Buoyed by an unstoppable Andreas Palicka (19 saves), Les Rouge et Bleu exacted revenge on their Polish counterparts and booked their place in the finals.

Although Aalborg were still within reach of the Parisians with two games remaining in the group phase, their defeat in Zagreb (28-26) ended any hopes of direct qualification for the quarter-finals. Thanks to a final victory over Szeged (37-33), however, Raul Gonzalez's men retained third place and clinched home advantage for the play-off round.

A CRUEL FINAL PHASE

Having qualified for the play-offs on the final day thanks to a win over Porto, it was Wisla Plock who stood in the way of the capital club. Against his boyhood club, Kamil Syprzak put on a show and lived up to his status as the competition's top scorer. Be it in the first leg (26-30) or the return leg at Coubertin (34-33), the Polish international led his side into the quarter-finals, where one of the favourites awaited them: Barcelona.

Runners-up to Magdeburg in the group stage, Barcelona were looking to clinch their 12th title in the competition, and this match between the Spaniards and the Parisians was a final before the final. However, only one team could claim the coveted ticket to Cologne, and despite putting up a valiant fight, Paris found their backs against the wall in the first leg at Coubertin (22-30) - despite another excellent performance from Andreas, who made 12 saves. Despite a more even contest at the Palau Blaugrana, which saw Kamil pass the 600-goal mark in the EHF Champions League for Les Rouge et Bleu, Paris Saint-Germain Handball exited the competition at the quarter-final stage (32-31).

Β Despite being eliminated before the Final4, Raul Gonzalez's men created a spectacle throughout the campaign, led in particular by the inevitable Kamil Syprzak and Luc Steins, who were nominated for the titles of best pivot and best centre-half. As was the case in the Liqui Moly StarLigue, our two Parisians finished as the competition's top scorer (112 goals) and assists leader (80 assists). In addition to Kamil and Luc, Andreas is also in contention for the title of best goalkeeper, while Elohim is battling it out to be voted best left-back of the season. Now it's time for a few months' rest before the highly anticipated return to competitive action.

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