On Sunday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball will contest the Coupe de France final at the AccorArena. It promises to be a gala occasion, as Les Rouge et Bleu take on the competition's record champions Montpellier.
The road to the final
As has been the custom for several seasons now, the top-flight clubs travel to face ProLigue teams in the first round. Montpellier began their adventure last September in Sélestat with a comfortable 27-35 victory. In the round of 16, the intensity was turned up a notch in what was almost a derby match away to Nîmes. Despite its being close for much of the match, MHB pulled away at the end and held on to win (22-28). Erick Mathé's men then disposed of Aix (33-31) and Limoges (25-31).
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The Parisians first faced Pau Billère (28-33) and Saran (32-36). But the real test came in the quarter-finals against two-time defending champions Nantes. Unsurprisingly, the clash between the league leaders and their closest rivals was a tough one, and the match had to be decided on penalties. After a save by Jannick Green and a final shot converted by Yahia Omar, Les Rouge et Bleu secured their place in the semi-finals, where they played host to Chambéry. This time, the job was done in 60 minutes and, thanks in particular to nine goals from Elohim Prandi, the capital club earned the right to travel to the AccorArena.
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A sense of déjà vu
This is not the first time the two teams have faced each other at this stage of the competition -it has happened three times before. The first was in the 2007-2008 season, with Montpellier narrowly beating Paris Handball (28-26). Almost ten years later, in 2016, MHB once again defeated Paris (39-32). But the last match ended in favour of Les Rouge et Bleu, with a victory at the Palais des Sports Robert Oubron, in an arena that was empty due to COVID restrictions. This will therefore be the fourth time that Montpellier and Paris meet in the final.
A gala match
In terms of prestige, it's hard to imagine a better match-up. These are the competition's two most successful sides. For now, Montpellier leads the way with 13 wins (including 12 between 1999 and 2013) and four losses in the final. After lifting the trophy for the first time in 2007, the capital club added five more Coupe de France titles (2014, 2015, 2018, 2021 and 2022). It's worth noting that we'll see this match-up again soon, on Saturday 31 May at the Sud de France Arena, in Liqui Moly StarLigue Matchday 28 action.
Key stats
7. Our captain, Luka Karabaitc, has won seven Coupe de France titles to date. Four with Montpellier (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012) and three with Paris (2021 and 2022).
27. In just three appearances, Elohim Prandi has managed to find the back of the net 27 times, making the French international Paris' top scorer in the competition this season. For Montpellier, we find our future player, Sebastian Karlsson, with 19 goals (including 11 against Aix).
28. Between them, Montpellier Handball and Paris Saint-Germain Handball have played in 28 Coupe de France finals (17 for Montpellier, 11 for Les Rouge et Bleu).
(Credits: L. Valroff/PSG)