Mission accomplished ahead of Final4

News

After a week of perilous away games - to Nantes (24-26) and then to Montpellier (32-36) - Paris Saint-Germain Handball returned to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on Saturday afternoon for Lidl StarLigue Round 14. The league leaders were taking part in their final league match of 2020 as Dunkerque came calling, and victory was imperative both in order to remain clear atop the standings and to prepare in the best possible way for the Velux EHF Final4, which will take place at the end of December.

Building on the momentum of their last two successes, Les rouge et Bleu got off to a great start. While Yann Genty made the stops necessary to keep his sheet clean (4': 3-0), the offensive line also tuned up quickly, with Elohim Prandi ruthlessly firing home three times from as many attempts (9': 6-2). These two men were also the driving force behind the solidity of the Parisian rearguard, with Elo getting back to well to facilitate Yann's save from Gabin Martinez.

Very quickly, the Northerners understood that they were going to have a difficult afternoon facing Genty. The problem was that Oleg Grams, the Dunkerque keeper, also had plenty of answers and prevented our team from running away with the match (16': 9-4). Fortunately, Kamil Syprzak pounced with a quick-fire double to keep the Parisians five goals clear (19': 11-6)! The unstoppable Polish international proved the biggest thorn in the visitors' side, notably scoring from some pretty tricky positions (23': 13-8).

At the end of the first half, technical errors piled up on both sides. Between lost possession and missed shots, the score did not change. At the break, Raul Gonzalez's men were still in the lead, six goals to the good.

Back from the locker room, Paris got back on target for a time, the inevitable Elohim who distinguished himself with a schwenker (33': 16-9). But once again, Les Rouge et Bleu couldn't manage to kill off the match, even though their remained large and their few small mistakes did not allow Dunkirk to get back into the game (39': 18-13).

So, despite the visitors' best efforts, Paris retained control of the game - sometimes with style points - with Dainis Kristopans scoring with superb kung-fu, perfectly set up by the inevitable Elohim Prandi (41': 19-13). A few moments later, the latter tuned scorer once again, with two powerful shots that left the Russian goalkeeper no chance (43': 21-14; 46': 22-14). After another save from Yann and a goal from Viran Morros on the counter, Paris put the game to bed.

At the beginning of the last ten minutes, Les Rouge et Bleu were cruising (52': 26-16) and held out - with Kamil scoring again - to taste victory once more.

Paris Saint-Germain Handball thus claimed their thirteenth win in as many Lidl StarLigue matches this season, ending the year on a high! Their next match will be European: on 28 December, in Cologne, they will face off against Barcelona in their EHF Champions League semi-final (Kiel and Veszprém will contest the other semi).

(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)