Heroic! Paris beat Nantes, go through to semis!

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At the end of an intense match and a breathless penalty shoot-out against Nantes (40-39), our Rouge et Bleu clinched their place in the Coupe de France semi-finals by taking the scalp of the two-time defending champions. Take a look back at this beautiful evening at Coubertin!

Back at Coubertin in an electric atmosphere

Fifty-one is the number of days since Paris Saint-Germain Handball's last match, the spectacular win against Saint-Raphaël (41-34). That's an awfully long time, but Raul Gonzalez's men finally made their return to action on Saturday, in front of their home crowd no less. And what better way to do that than with a crunch Coupe de France quarter-final against Nantes?

After such a long absence, the capital club's supporters turned out in force at a sold-out Coubertin. Even before throw-off, the Ultras were cheering on our Parisians against their arch-rivals. Their cheering turned into a roar as the players took the court. A very special reception was then reserved for Elohim Prandi, back in Les Rouge et Bleu colours for the first time since 3 November. With two goals in the first five minutes, Elo‘ was soon back to his old ways. Solid and spurred on by the crowd, Paris took the lead after an intense start (5’, 4-3).

Paris bend, but don't break!

In addition to Elohim, who scored four goals in the first ten minutes, it was Nantes‘ Aymeric Minne who put on a show in the first quarter of an hour. Continuing on from his solid performance at the World Championship with Les Bleus, the Nantes centre-half managed to catch the Paris rearguard off guard and put his team ahead (13’, 7-11). The moment was thus right for Raul Gonzalez to call a first time-out. As is often the case, the Spanish coach's tactical adjustments paid off immediately and Paris made up some of its deficit thanks to a first goal from Ferran Solé (17', 10-12).

More clinical in attack, the capital club also grew stronger in defence as the minutes went by. Twice in the space of a few minutes, a very solid Andreas thwarted Julien Bos‘ attempts and increased the pressure on The H (24’: 14-15). A third save from the French international and a superb chabala finished by Ferran Solé allowed Les Rouge et Bleu to make up their deficit with a few minutes to go before the break (27', 15-15). The two teams went into the dressing room with the score at 15-15, a parity that reflected the first period.

The Parisian machine in full swing!

As soon as play resumed, our Parisians picked up where they had left off at the end of the first period and soon took the lead for the first time in the match (33', 17-16). Now it was Les Rouge et Bleu who were unstoppable in every aspect of the game. Yahia, Wallem and then Luc in turn put three unanswered goals past Nantes, giving Paris a three-point lead (38': 22-19).

However, as Raul Gonzalez's men were well aware, Nantes are not the type of team to give up easily. Exploiting the slightest Parisian error, the visitors redoubled their intensity to get back into the game as the final quarter of an hour approached (44', 25-24). It is in moments like this that the biggest stars shine the brightest, and it was Yahia who responded three times to levellers from Aymeric Minne to keep the capital club ahead by the narrowest of margins (49', 29-28).

Heroic

Although Nantes took the upper hand for three minutes, Paris hit back through through a Wallem Peleka clearly not afraid of Ivan Pesic (53’, 31-30). However, Nantes also made very few mistakes in the latter stages of the match. A man down, the capital club saw The H regain the lead at the worst possible moment (55': 31-32). This was followed by an unbearable five minutes, at the end of which Andreas Palicka managed to make a sensational save at the buzzer to send the match to penalties (35-35).

In an intense shoot-out, our Rouge et Bleu all hit their marks before Jannick Green saved Théo Avelange's attempt. To conclude his perfect match, it was Yahia Omar who stepped up in front of Ivan Pesic with the ball for qualification in his hand. With a combination of pure talent and experience, the Egyptian international ended the suspense and delivered Coubertin, who roared like one man. Paris brought down the two-time defending champions and will be in the semi-finals!

What's next for Les Rouge et Bleu?

After the Coupe de France, it's time for the Champions League! Les Rouge et Bleu will be returning to Coubertin on Thursday to as Plock come calling. Currently second in their group, Raul Gonzalez's men will be looking to lock down their place in the quarter-finals. All the ingredients are therefore in place for another thrilling evening on Thursday. Throw-off at 20:45!

Tickets for the match against Plock!

Reactions from Raul Gonzalez, Ferran Solé and Wallem Peleka:

(Credits: L. Valroff/PSG)