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Les Rouge et Bleu ruthless in Brittany

Comptes-rendus

Laser focused for sixty minutes, Paris Saint-Germain Handball delivered a perfect performance against Cesson-Rennes at the Glaz Arena (29-42). Take a look back at this crucial victory in the final stages of the Liqui Moly StarLigue season.

A match between two contrasting sides could be the best way to describe this Round 24 clash between the Bretons and the Parisians in the Liqui Moly StarLigue. On the one hand, Les Rouge et Bleu were in a strong position to win their 12th French championship title, three points ahead of Nantes with seven games to go. On the other, Cesson-Rennes found themselves in a delicate situation, sitting in the relegation zone. This final sprint will therefore be crucial for both teams, neither of whom can afford to drop points. All the ingredients were in place for a thrilling encounter at the Glaz Arena...

An even start

In front of their home crowd, Les Irréductibles struck first, but Paris responded immediately through Kamil (2': 1-1). A slow pace followed for several minutes, punctuated by somewayward shooting and technical errors on both sides. Even a man down, however, Les Rouge et Bleu showed their strength and stayed in touch with their opponents (6': 3-3).

Compact in defence, the capital club punished the home side with quick attacks. Elohim, Kamil and then Ferran all found the back of the net, allowing Paris to open up a lead (10': 4-6). While keeper Andreas grew in confidence with two saves, the first quarter of an hour was marked by some clinical finishing from the Parisians. This cutting edge was embodied in particular by the partnership between Ferran Solé and Luc Steins. Providing the assist for two of the Spanish international's three goals, our centre-half was proving flawless (15': 5-8).

The Parisian machine gets rolling

Although they were not lacking in drive, Sébastien Leriche's men made numerous technical errors and the Breton coach decided to call his first timeout. But this did little to reverse the trend; while Les Irréductibles were more clinical in attack, their defence remained as porous as ever. Paris therefore maintained the lead in a prolific first half (22': 10-13). The gap widened as the break approached thanks to two superb moments of inspiration, from Luc Steins and then Jacob Holm (25': 10-15).

The capital club's festival was well and truly underway. While Luc and Jacob delighted in attack, Andreas made save after save. Our Parisians were ruthless and kept up the pace despite Sunjic's rebellion for the Bretons, the keeper denying Kamil and Ferran's penalties in quick succession (29': 11-17). Thus Raul Gonzalez's men took a handy lead into the break at the end of a controlled first half at the Glaz Arena (30': 11-18).

Les Rouge et Bleu run riot

Paris started the second half with a man advantage and wasted no time in punishing Cesson-Rennes. Elo' scored his third goal of the evening with one of his trademark powerful strikes (33': 12-20). In defence, Andreas Palicka matched his attacking teammate with a splendid double save before launching Luka on to score on the counter (36': 14-23). And when it wasn't our Swedish goalkeeper stopping the Breton attacks, it was bad luck, as evidenced by Robin Molinié's shot that cannoned off both posts and out.

The capital club did not suffer the same lack of good fortune tonight. From the left wing, Wallem opened his account for the evening and put Paris ten goals ahead (40': 18-28). Although the suspense in this match seemed to have finally disappeared, Cesson-Rennes decided to call another timeout after a ninth goal from Kamil, who was in ruthless form (43': 20-30).

Youngsters in the spotlight

Although Paris's victory was assured going into the final quarter of an hour, the end of the match was no less exciting to watch. This was largely due to spectacular performances from Kamil and Elohim, who seemed to be looking to outdo each other. While our pivot reached nine goals, Elo' looked to catch up with him as the minutes ticked by, scoring his eighth goal of the evening (47': 22-33). Raul Gonzalez took advantage of the final minutes to make several substitutions: Jannick Green, Gautier Loredon, Léo Plantin, Kent Robin Tonnesen, David Balaguer and Noah Narcisse all took to the court at the Glaz Arena.

Noah immediately made his mark with a perfect assist for Jacob Holm (49': 23-36). Shortly afterwards, another academy graduate distinguished himself - Léo Plantin, whose aim fro mthe penalty line was true (53': 26-39). Paris were ruthless at the Glaz Arena in what was undoubtedly one of their most accomplished matches of the season. It was a clear and flawless victory, the biggest of the season in all competitions (60th: 28-41). The mission was accomplished, and we'll see you next week at Coubertin.

Next up for Les Rouge et Bleu

After this fine victory, Paris will return to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin next Saturday at 20:00 for Liqui Moly StarLigue Matchday 25. Raul Gonzalez's men will take on another team that have struggled in recent weeks: Tremblay. This is a match not to be missed in the final sprint towards a new league title.

Get your tickets for Paris vs. Tremblay!

(Crédits : E. Renard/Team Pics/PSG)