Imperious against Chambéry, Les Rouge et Bleu book final berth

Comptes-rendus

On Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball booked their place in the Coupe de France final with a demonstration of strength in their semi-final against Chambéry (39-27). Take a look back on a wonderful evening at Coubertin!

After Pau-Billère, Saran and Nantes, it was time for Chambéry! Our Parisians were on the verge of reaching the Coupe de France final, a title that has eluded them since 2022. Even before thinking about getting their hands on the trophy again, Les Rouge et Bleu would have to be serious about beating Chambéry, who have not been doing too badly in this campaign. The Savoyards came to Coubertin without pressure, and for this reason the capital club had to take every precaution to make sure they reached the final against Montpellier.

A solid start

Paris were clear on one thingat the start of the match: the Savoyards must not be given any hope. While Les Rouge et Bleu were unstoppable in attack, Jannick Green continued his excellent form with two early saves (4': 3-1). Although Chambéry were gradually getting into their game, they committed several technical fouls and twice went a man down before the ten-minute mark had been reached (9': 6-4). Raul Gonzalez's men did not need to be asked twice, Léo Plantin and Elohim Prandi taking turns to increase the lead (12': 9-6).

Paris ruthless in front of goal

The attacks rained down in the first quarter of an hour as Paris showed no mercy: Elo' had already scored four goals, while Kamil was close behind with three. Asier Antonio quickly called the first time-out of the match (15': 11-6), but the changes did nothing to loosen Jannick's iron grip on the match; our goalkeeper continued to make save after save, even from the penalty line. At the same time, Kamil and Elohim continued their ruthless scoring streak (19': 14-7) and soon Yahia Omar joined the party, and scored a splendid hat-trick to extend the capital club's lead (23': 17-8).

With their backs to the wall and no solution in sight, Chambéry committed one foul after another and were sanctioned with a third two-minute suspension. Paris then really broke free as Yahia scored his sixth goal of the evening (25': 20-10). At the end of a first half controlled from start to finish, our Rouge et Bleu went into the dressing room with an eight-goal lead (30th: 21-13).

Youngsters in the spotlight

As soon as play resumed, Raul Gonzalez decided to field three of his youngsters, with Gautier Loredon, Léo Plantin and Wallem Peleka all coming on alongside Dani Baijens. Gautier did not take long to seize his chance, scoring twice as Paris responded well to a strong spell from the visitors (37': 25-17).

Back from injury, Andreas Palicka marked his return in the best possible way, winning a duel before finding the back of the net in the ensuing action (42': 27-21). After a good start to the second half, Chambéry were quickly on the back foot once more. This was thanks not only to some excellent Parisian defending, but to Elohim, who took his tally to nine goals (46': 30-21).

See you at the Accor Arena

The Savoyards were clearly struggling at the end of the match and decided to call another time-out just as Léo Plantin had scored his third of the evening (50': 33-24). Raul Gonzalez took advantage of this stoppage in play to bring on a new youngster in Noa Narcisse. The young left-back picked up hwere his predecessor had left off, continuing Paris's scoring spree (54': 37-26).

In front of their home crowd, Paris put on a high-level show against Chambéry this evening. Solid and carried by a flamboyant attack, as evidenced by the thirteen different goal scorers, the capital club secured its ticket for the Coupe de France final (60': 39-27). The Parisians will meet Montpellier at the AccorArena on 18 May, with the sole intention of winning the seventh Coupe de France in their history. In the meantime, Les Rouge et Bleu will have several important fixtures, starting on Sunday at Coubertin.

What's next for Les Rouge et Bleu

The capital club will be back in front of their home crowd for a top match against Toulouse at 17:00 on Sunday. Raul Gonzalez's men will need your support as they continue their quest for a 12th French championship title.

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(Credits: L. Valroff/PSG)