Les Rouge et Bleu roll on at Cesson-Rennes

Comptes-rendus

Paris Saint-Germain Handball beat Cesson-Rennes 24-27 at the Glaz Arena on Wednesday. Here's a look back at the Liqui Moly StarLigue Round 25 encounter.

Paris Saint-Germain had a date with Cesson-Rennes on Wednesday evening as part of Liqui Moly StarLigue Round 25. Les Rouge et Bleu wanted to beat their Breton counterparts to boost their confidence ahead of an important week (Coupe de France final and EHF Champions League quarter-final), but above all to maintain at least a three-point lead over second-placed Nantes.

From the outset, Paris put on a serious show, proving themselves to be solid both offensively and defensively. In addition to Nikola Karabatic's opening goal - the 1,000th career league goal for our number 44 - Jannick Green pulled off a series of saves to give his side their first break (7': 1-3). As the minutes ticked by, Les Rouge et Bleu increased their intensity and built up a comfortable lead, forcing Sébastien Leriche to stop play (11': 2-6). The Bretons redoubled their efforts, spurred on by their fans, and managed to close the gap to two goals at the end of the first quarter (16': 5-7).

Despite Rennes' strong spell, the capital club could rely on wingers Léo Plantin and David Balaguer, who took turns to restore Paris' two-point lead (21': 8-10). The Bretons, however, were surgical in front of goal and managed to pull level (25': 10-10). As the two sides duked it out at the end of the first period, Nikola put his side back in front (29th: 12-13), and Les Rouge et Bleu returned to the locker room with this narrow advantage after a balanced first half (30': 12-13).

After the restart, Elohim Prandi struck twice to make the break for Paris (35': 15-17). The French international was in imperious form and caused the Breton rearguard a lot of problems, firing past Arnaud Tabarand again as Paris extended their lead (39': 15-19). Cesson-Rennes reacted immediately, stopping play in a bid to breathe new life into the game, as they had done in the first half. With a numerical advantage, Sébastien Leriche's men gradually clawed their way back into the game in the second half as the final minutes approached (46th: 17-19).

Spurred on by their fans, the Bretons were just one goal behind the capital club (51': 20-21). Les Rouge et Bleu did not let up, however, and had Luc Steins, who was as excellent as ever (13 assists), to pull the strings. One of his passes went to Elohim, who scored his fifth goal of the evening, while Jannick made his 14th save to put an end to the home side's hopes (57': 21-26). Paris Saint-Germain Handball won at the Glaz Arena and kept up the pace in the Liqui Moly StarLigue (60': 24-27). Next up for Raul Gonzalez's men is the Coupe de France final against Nantes at the AccorArena on Saturday.

REACTIONS FROM RAUL GONZALEZ, JANNICK GREEN AND WALEM PELEKA:

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