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Les Rouge et Bleu put on a show against Ivry

Comptes-rendus

On their trip to Ivry, Paris Saint-Germain Handball made the most of a strong second half to dominate the league's bottom team with an iron fist (28-41). Here' our review of this Liqui Moly StarLigue Matchday 20 encounter!

AN EXCITING START...

Having regained the Liqui Moly StarLigue lead two weeks ago with a stylish win over HBC Nantes (34-28), the Parisians were back in league action this Friday against the team currently at the bottom of the standings: US Ivry. Committed to their mission of beating the drop and coming off consecutive wins, the side from the Val-de-Marne region welcomed Les Rouge et Bleu to the Olympe de Gouges arena in Serris, due to the tragic fire that affected the Auguste-Delaune gymnasium.

At throw-off, the objective was clear for Raul Gonzalez's men: to continue their positive momentum and thus firm in top spot on the league standings. The clash between the two Paris-region clubs got off to a flying start, with the home team invigorated by their recent results (4': 3-2). But Paris reacted immediately through Robin Tønnesen, who was clinical in front of the opposing goalkeeper (7': 3-5).

...BEFORE TAKING THE LEAD

Jannick Green and David Bernard each distinguished themselves in turn in front of the Ile-de-France public, and then Toke Schröder found the net again, allowing his team to stay in touch with our Les Rouge et Bleu (12': 4-6). With Luc Steins at the helm, the Parisians set the pace and maintained their grip on the match, pushing their opponents into making mistakes, which then benefited Ferran Solé, who didn't need to be asked twice to increase Paris‘ lead with a well-executed seven-metre throw (18’: 7-10).

It was now the sharpshooters‘ turn to shine, and the goals flew in one after another - much to the delight of the fans, who were asking for more. Jacob Holm was on a roll, scoring three times in quick succession to give his team a little more breathing space (22’: 10-14). Between changes of pace and combinations, Paris confirmed their dominance over Ivry as the minutes ticked by. Rubén Marchán, who had come on a few minutes earlier, showed his finishing skills by scoring four goals in a row, giving Les Rouge et Bleu a five-point lead at the break (30': 15-20).

A ONE-WAY SECOND HALF

In the second half, Raul Gonzalez's players continued their momentum, led by a Luc Steins who ran the Rouge et Noir defence ragged (37': 18-25). The gap gradually widened, with Elohim Prandi not doing his boyhood club any favours -quite the contrary. The French international took advantage of his confidence in front of goal to score his 600th league goal and guide his team towards an increasingly emphatic victory (41': 20-28). And while Jacob Holm (four goals) was on fire, as was a clinical Léo Plantin (3 from 4), Paris also relied on Jannick Green, who made 11 saves, to run away with it (46': 21-33).

Despite Ronaldo Almeida (seven goals) once again performing well, the home side were unable to get back into the game. Rubén Marchán, always so skilful in front of goal, continued to fire in the final minutes (55': 24-39). Gretar Gudjonsson tried to contain the Parisian assaults, but he could only watch on helplessly as his team went down. In total control, Paris clinched another victory and maintained their lead at the top of the standings (60': 28-41).

Reactions from Raul Gonzalez and Jannick Green:

 

Direction Szeged

Now it's time for a crucial match as Raul Gonzalez's men travel to Hungary to take on Szeged in the first leg of the EHF Champions League round of 16. The match will be played at the Pick Aréna on Thursday 27 March (18:45)!

(Credits: E. Renard/Team Pics/PSG)