First hitch
View this post on InstagramMalgré une belle opposition, Paris s'incline face au @fcbhandbol #BARPSG
The context:
On Saturday evening, Paris Saint-Germain Handball were in Velux EHF Champions League Matchday5 action. With several of its big names missing (Mikkel Hansen, Kim Ekdahl du Rietz, Sander Sagosen and Henrik Toft Hansen), the task was a difficult one for the capital club in the capital as they travelled to face fellow Group A favourites Barcelona, who took an enviable four-year home unbeaten run in Europe in to the match.
The match:
The early stages of the match were very tight. The two teams hit each other hard but neither of them managed to break away (5': 3-3) with Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas making a parry and Vincent Gérard replying (9': 4-4) before Raul Entrerrios gave the Blaugranas the lead only for Sadou Ntanzi to immediately respond (15': 8-8). It wasn't until the 20th minute that one side broke clear, with Parisians Kamil Syprzak and Nedim Remili striking in quick succession (10-12). But even then, Barcelona were soon back on level terms (22': 12-12). Worse still, they seemed to be getting the measure of Les Rouge et Bleu and finished the first very strongly, heading into the break four goals to the good (30': 19-15).
Unfortunately for Raul Gonzalez's men, the second half did not see their fortunes take an upturn. The Catalans widened the gap even further (38': 24-18) as the Parisians struggled to find a way past Pérez de Vargas and found themselves chasing after the match. Even when our side managed to get back on track in attack (42': 27-22), they began to falter in defence (46': 28-22). Although Les Rouge et Bleu seemed destined for defeat, they raised their heads in the final moments (54': 33-28). Well led by their captain, Luka Karabatic, but also by Barcelona old boy Viran Morros, they made up some of their deficit in the final minutes (57': 34-30). Despite their rebellious spirit, however, victory proved to be a bridge too far (36-32).
The Parisian of the match: Luka Karabatic
Luka Karabatic played his role as captain perfectly. When his team was in trouble, the French international showed his team-mates the way back into the match. He also proved very efficient, co-top scoring in the match (along with Aleix Gomez) with 8 from 8.
The word: Goal difference
While Paris suffered their first competitive loss of the season and relinquished the title of Group A leaders to their opponents on the night (pending Flensburg's trip to Aalborg), nothing is yet set in stone! Indeed, Barcelona only lead the group on goal difference and, thanks to their fight-back towards the end of the game, the capital club reduced the head-to-head goal difference to just four lengths. Thus a win by a five-point margin in the return leg at Coubertin in December would allow Les Rouge et Bleu to turn things around.
Coming up:
The Parisians return to club competition next week, after an international break that will see many of our players meet in Denmark for the Golden League.
(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)