Goals galore and qualification at Coubertin

News

Paris Saint-Germain Handball qualified for the Coupe de France quarter-finals by beating Saran 44-27 at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on Wednesday evening. We take a look back at Les Rouge et Bleus' last home game of 2023.

On Wednesday evening, Les Rouge et Bleu closed out 2023 at home with a Coupe de France clash. Facing Saran in the round of 16, the capital club were keen to continue their good run of form and book their place in the quarter-finals. Saran may be struggling this season, but the Parisians had to avoid falling the banana skin.

Taking advantage of Saran's lack of attacking flair, Les Rouge et Bleu took an early lead thanks to a brace from Wallem Peleka (3': 3-1). Saran were soon outnumbered and decided to attack with seven men. This gave Raul Gonzalez's men a chance to get forward quickly and extend their lead (8': 7-2). Fabien Courtial stopped play for the first time to get his men back into the game, but Ferran Solé, who had already scored six goals in the first quarter of an hour, kept his side comfortably ahead (15': 13-8).

The Parisian team worked together perfectly in the first half, and Jacob produced a splendid kung-fu finish from Ruben's pass (20': 16-10). Jannick Green also joined in the festivities with a goal from his own half when the Loirétains were a man down (23': 19-12). As the end of the first half approached, Nikola Karabatic, who had just come on, opened his account for the evening with a goal (26': 20-14). In the end, Paris went into the locker room with a five-goal lead after a well-controlled first half (30': 21-16).

Despite being a man down, Les Rouge et Bleu inflicted a 4-0 defeat on Saranais on the way back from the break (34': 25-16). The Parisians could count on the sparkling form of Elohim, who scored a hat-trick that included a superb chabala. Raul Gonzalez's men had clearly come back from the break with the same intentions as in the first half and now had a ten-point lead over a helpless Saran side (37th: 27-17). At the start of the final quarter of an hour, the goals were pouring in at Coubertin; Les Rouge et Bleu had already passed the 35-goal mark (46': 36-22).

In money time, Ruben Marchan (voted MVP) scored a hat-trick, taking his total to eight goals and forcing Saran to call a time-out (52': 39-23). With the fate of the match already sealed, the Parisians were in control at the end. Having taken his place in Les Rouge et Bleus' goal, Léo Villain continued his excellent form ( four saves at 50%) with a penlty save. Raul Gonzalez's men were serious and hard-working throughout the match, and ended up winning 44-27 to book their place in the Coupe de France quarter-finals in this, their last home match of 2023. Next up for the Parisians, on Saturday, is their Liqui Moly SarLigue Round 16 clash with Saint-Raphaël.

REACTIONS FROM RAUL GONZALEZ, LÉO PLANTIN AND WALLEM PELEKA:

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