No nonsense

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The context:
Five days after their European success in Zagreb (29-37), Paris Saint-Germain Handball were back in French league action on Wednesday evening, travelling to Chartres for their Round 3 Lidl StarLigue clash. Despite Chartres' having just earned promotion, this match was not to be taken lightly, as Rodrigo Corrales reminded us earlier in the day. Indeed, the CMHB reigned supreme in the Proligue last season and were coming off an Lidl StarLigue win (at Créteil 26-27).

The match:
The opening stages were complicated for our team, who were up against European competitors in front of their raucous fans. The home side were the first to score and the first to make a break (3': 3-1). However, little by little, Nedim Remili and his teammates got the measure of their opponent. The Parisian right-back reduced the deficit (9': 6-5), before Sander Sagosen's equaliser hit home (11': 6-6). Despite the courage shown by Chartres (14': 9-10), Les Rouge et Bleu were all business as they dictate the game, and the home side struggled to pose the Parisian defence problems, especially as defender Viran Morros broke and scored on the counter (16': 9-11). For several long minutes, this two-goal difference remained (24': 12-14) but, at the end of the first half, Raul Gonzalez's men put their foot on the gas once again, with Kamil Syprzak needing no invitation to put the capital club three goals to the good (30': 14-17).

After the restart, Paris kept up the pressure and Nikola Karabatic scored a brace to widen the gap a little further (32': 15-19). The Parisian lead climbed as the seconds passed and soon our players had a seven-goal lead, thanks to Gudjon Sigurdsson's winning a one-on-one (36': 16-23). The reigning French champions managed their second half perfectly (43': 19-26). Among the good performances of the evening, Nedim (top scorer in the match with eight goals), continued to find the back of the net be it from the nine- or seven-metre line (52': 25-32). For his part, Vincent Gérard, who grew in strength throughout the second half, made his thirteenth save of the match - which was also his 3000th in France's top flight (55': 26-34)! Paris Saint-Germain Handball, despite a slight slackening in the final seconds, ran out deserved 30-36 winners to continue their perfect start to the league season.

The Parisian of the match: Kim Ekdahl du Rietz
In excellent form since the beginning of the season, Kim Ekdahl du Rietz once again shown himself to be up to the task as he led the way on this trip to Chartres. With 7 from 7, the Swedish international gave the opposing goalkeepers no chance. He has now scored nine goals in three league matches.

The word: Leader
Even before the meeting between Nantes and Saint-Raphaël on Thursday evening, Paris is sure to be the leader at the end of this round of league matches. Indeed, Les Rouge et Bleu will be the only ones to have won all their matches, since Nîmes were beaten by Créteil (29-35) and Aix were held in away to Ivry (23-23).

Coming up:
The next match will be in Europe! Luka Karabatic and his team-mates will take on Szeged in their Velux EHF Champions League Matchday 2 clash. This match-up is a mouth-watering one, the Hungarian side having clinched a win in Barcelona (31-28). It will also be Luka Stepancic's return to his old Parisian stomping ground! To get the last tickets for this heavyweight clash, go to our online ticket office!

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)