Five-star Paris do the job

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Two days after their victory over Elverum (35-29) in the EHF Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain Handball were in Lidl StarLigue Round 5 action on Saturday afternoon, taking on derby rivals US Ivry at the Gymnase Auguste Delaune.

With four wins from four games, Les Rouge et B ;eu were clear favourites as they made the short trip to neighbours Ivry. But, although the Paris-region side had closed just one win thus far, they were not to be taken lightly, as Nikola Karabatic had reminded us a little earlier.

The three-time best player in the world has a wealth of experience and when he talks, we listen. Well warned, the Parisians started the match very well. As expected, the game was a tough physical battle and our players had to give their all - as Kamil Syprzak, who put his body on the line for the team (7': 3-5).

Despite some strong resistance form the home side (12': 8-9), Raul Gonzalez's men maintained the upper hand. Solid defensively, they made several key interceptions that allowed them to score on the counter. Even when the rearguard was caught out, Vincent Gérard was on hand to shore things up (15': 8-12). At the other end of the court, the spectacle was just as impressive, as Ferran Solé shone with a clever lob that left Mate Sunjic no chance (18': 9-14).

The Spanish international was not the only one to shine in attack, with Mikkel Hansen also turning in a strong first-half performance, helping keep his side out in front (23': 11-16). This burst of stylish action was followed by a long dry spell, but even that was not enough for Ivry to bridge the gap - thanks to the excellent Vincent (27': 12-16). Henrik Toft Hansen was back on target before the break, and Paris were five goals to the good at the break!

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Après une belle première période, Paris mène au repos devant Ivry ! #USIPSG @lidlstarligue

A post shared by Paris Saint-Germain Handball (@psghandofficiel) on Oct 17, 2020 at 8:46am PDT

The second half picked up where the first had left off, with Benoît Kounkoud quickly putting Ivry six goals adrift as he capped a fine counter (32': 15-21). However, once again, Sunjic proved a thorn in the side of Les Rouge et Bleu, stymying their efforts from close range and from distance. This saw the locals start to catch up (39': 20-22), but Raul quickly called a time out and got the Parisian machine going again!

The effect wasn't felt immediately, but Paris managed to stay out in front (43': 21-24). For several long minutes, the two sides duked it out blow for blow and the margin stayed stuck on three goals (47': 22-25). Parisian captain for the evening Mikky set the example by getting the better of the Croatian goalkeeper (48': 22-26), with Henrik following suit and putting his side five goals to the good when he finished cleanly after superb no-look pass from Nedim Remili (49': 22-27).

The capital club let the storm pass and were well out in the lead at the beginning of the last 10 minutes (50': 22-29). Henrik (co-top scorer of the match, alongside Mikky, with eight goals) was everywhere to continually accentuate the Parisian advantage a little more, even converting a counter-attack that he had created himself (53': 23-30). Our pivot put a definitive end to the suspense when he scored the goal to make it +10 (56': 24-34). Les Rouge et Bleu ran out comfortable winners in Ivry and now have five wins from as many Lidl Starligue games - perfect form that has them in sole control of the league table!

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)