Mission accomplished: quarters berth booked!

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On Thursday night, Paris Saint-Germain Handball played the return leg of their EHF Champions League Round of 16 tie against Celje at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. Big winners in the first leg in Slovenia (24-37), Paris were favourites to clinch a place in the quarter-finals - as they have done every season since 2013-2014. With the exception of a loss by more than 14 goals, or a loss by 13 goals with the visitors scoring at least 38 times, any result would see the capital club through to the next round.

To avoid any nasty surprises, Les Rouge et Bleu took the match by the scruff of the neck early on (5': 3-0). After scoring ten goals in the first leg, Dylan Nahi was once again in scintillating form and scored with each of his attempts, allowing his team to maintain a handy lead (10': 6-3). Solid in defence, Raul Gonzalez's team perfectly exploited their opportunities on the counter and increased their lead when captain Luka Karabatic won his one-on-one with the visiting 'keeper (13': 7-3).

Despite trailing on aggregate, the Slovenians played some good handball and their goalkeeper Miljan Vujovic frequently frustrated our offensive line. The visitors' attack took full advantage of this to make up for some of their deficit (17': 8-6) but, overall, Paris controlled the match and stayed out of danger (20': 10-7). And they looked even safer when Vincent GĂ©rard pushed back a 7m attempt from Gal Marguc and when Elohim Prandi, on the ensuing attack, blasted home at the far post.

The last line of the Parisian defence turned up the heat at the end of the first half , preventing Celje from believing that an upset could be bon the cards (26': 13-10). Vincent's saves, combined with Kamil Syprzak's clinical shooting, sent Paris into the break with a two-point lead (15 on aggregate).

At the beginning of the second half, matters continued as they were at the end of the first and Paris' lead remained locked on two goals (34': 17-15). For several long minutes, the two teams matched each other in terms of their cutting edge, but also in their clumsiness (38': 19-17). Little by little, Les Rouge et Bleu took back the ascendancy and started to pull clear (41': 21-17). At the beginning of the final 15 minutes, their place in the quarters was looking more solid than ever (45': 24-17).

The minutes ticked down but things did not improve for Celje (48': 26-18). Nonetheless, the players continued to deliver a wonderful match! And no-one more so than the two goalkeepers, with Yann Genty producing a pastis and Vujovic saving a penalty (51': 26-19). In attack, Les Rouge et Bleu were also in evidence as Dainis Kristopans latched onto a lofted pass from Nedim Remili to score with a beautiful spin-shot (53': 27-20). Meanwhile, Luc used his technique to eliminate the opponent's rear-guard and fire powerfully into the back of the net.

Moments later, the final buzzer sounded and Paris Saint-Germain officially reached the quarterfinals. There they will face Sander Sagosen's THW Kiel, who qualified at the expense of Szeged (33-28 in both games). The double-header against the Germans will take place in mid-May, with the first leg to be played at the Sparkassen-Arena and the second at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)