On to the quarters!

One week after a dramatic battle that Paris and Elverum draw in Norway (30-30), everything remained to be done for Les Rouge et Bleu, who were only 60 minutes away from the EHF Champions League quarter finals. This time, spurred on by the fans in a packed Stade de Coubertin, our players qualified in style!

From the very first moments, Paris showed that they were approaching this match with seriousness and dedication. After five minutes of play, the capital club were leading thanks to goals from Dainis Kristopans, Kamil Syprzak and Benoît Kounkoud (5': 3-1) - as well as several decisive saves from Yann Genty. The Norwegian team did not let themselves be destabilised so easily, however, and levelled it up (7': 4-4). But Paris shifted gears and got back in the lead by racking up the counter-attacks, with our no10 notably capping one with a powerful finish (13': 9-6). 

A few minutes before the break, the Parisians were still leading, and winger Benoit Kounkoud took the opportunity to rush towards goal and score his fourth. Thanks to a controlled first half, Luka Karabatic and his team went back to the locker room with a nice lead (30':20-14).

Back on the court, the Parisians brought the fire. With the help of our sparkling numbers 9 and 10, Benoît Kounkoud and Dainis Kristopans, Paris kept the lead in this decisive second leg. Through Ferran Solé and Kamil Syprzak, Les Rouge et Bleus' score kept adding up and with 7 minutes to go, Paris Saint-Germain were leading by ten goals.

The more the minutes passed, the more fired up Coubertin and its legendary supporters got (53': 36-26). And even though the Norwegians had a short period on top at the end of the game, the capital club easily won this second duel against Elverum (37-30) and booked their place in the quarter finals of this edition of the EHF Champions League! Kristopans and Kamil Syprzak finished the game as joint top scorers with seven goals apiece - another XXL performance for the Pole who managed to score with 12 of his 13 attempts last week in Norway.

Les Rouge et Bleu will now face German champions Kiel in the quarter-finals in May. The first leg will be played at home, at the Stade de Coubertin.

(Credits: JM. Hervio/Team Pics/PSG)