In a match full of twists and turns, Paris Saint-Germain Handball managed to hold firm and defeat Tremblay at Coubertin (30-26). Here's our look back at an incredibly important victory with five games to go in the Liqui Moly StarLigue season.
Six matches. That's all that stood between us and the end of this exciting Liqui Moly StarLigue season. The final sprint is undoubtedly underway, and although they had a three-point lead over Nantes at the top of the standings, Les Rouge et Bleu could not afford to relax. The race for a 12th French championship title continued at home to Tremblay on Saturday. On their return to the top flight, the Seine-Saint-Denis side have been as capable of surprising as they have of disappointing, meaning Raul Gonzalez's men needed to be at their best to collect two precious points.
Tremblay ON THE FRONT FOOT
Playing without pressure, Tremblay started the match at full throttle and it took a superb save from Jannick Green to prevent the capital club from conceding an early break (4': 1-2). With our players repeatedly denied by an imperious Rubens Pierre, Chérif Hamani's team controlled proceedings and ended up taking a two-goal lead (8': 3-5).
Although they were not lacking in determination, our Parisians showed a certain sloppiness in attack. Despite Jannick's solid performance from the penalty line, Les Rouge et Bleu struggled in the first quarter of an hour and Raul Gonzalez called a first time-out (13': 4-7). Shortly afterwards, the first substitutions were made, with David Balaguer, Léo Plantin and Kent Robin Tonnesen coming on. It was the latter who made the first impact, allowing Paris to close the gap to three goals (16': 6-9).
The Parisians fight back
Les Rouge et Bleu redoubled their efforts to make up the deficit. At times too committed, the capital club found themselves outnumbered. However, Raul Gonzalez's changes soon paid off. Wallem Peleka got Paris back on track by opening his account to reduce the deficit to two goals (21': 8-10).
As the crowd grew louder and louder as the break approached, they knew what was coming: the Parisian machine was firing on all cylinders. While Jannick put on a show with his eighth save at one end of the court, Elohim Prandi found the back of the net at the other (26': 12-13). In the dying moments of a tight and exciting first half, Yahia Omar turned the game around for Paris, striking to send his side into the break with a narrow lead (30': 14-13).
30' : Menés une grande partie du premier acte, les 🔴🔵 terminent fort et mènent à la pause devant Tremblay ! #PSGTRE pic.twitter.com/4XQEe11Qkb
— PSG Handball (@psghand) April 26, 2025
A perfect finish
After a scare at the start of the game, Paris were keen to avoid a repeat in the second half. So, after the break, Les Rouge et Bleu picked up exactly where they left off: with total domination. Thanks to a brace from Elo' and Yahia Omar's fifth goal of the evening, the capital club left the visitors reeling. Tremblay wasted no time in calling a timeout (33': 17-13).
The effect of the timeout was hardly felt as Paris maintained their frenetic pace. Having just come on, Jacob Holm took his turn to join the list of scorers (40': 20-15) before mercilessly adding three more goals in quick succession to increase the lead even further (44': 24-18).
A crucial victory in the title race
As the final whistle approached, Tremblay were far from giving up. Taking advantage of a lull in the Parisian attacks - and a numerical advantage - the Paris-region side managed to make up some of their deficit (52': 25-22). Raul Gonzalez decided to react by stopping play to rally his men in the final minutes. This timeout did the Parisians a world of good, as their cutting edge had started to slip.
The lead was then extended once more thanks to Kamil and Elohim, but also thanks to a huge performance from Jannick Green. In inspired form, our goalkeeper made his 23rd save of the evening with another stunning stop from the penalty line. This total easily beat his previous record for Les Rouge et Bleu, which was 19, and equalled the league's record for the season. After a difficult first twenty minutes, Paris managed to correct the situation and make the necessary efforts to secure another deserved victory in front of their home crowd against a valiant Tremblay team (60': 30-26).
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Next up for Les Rouge et Bleu
The capital club will return to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on Sunday 3 May for a clash of European representatives with Limoges. Kick-off for this unmissable match at Coubertin is scheduled for 17:00.
Your tickets for Paris - Limoges!
(Credits: J.M Hervio/PSG)