Paris avoid Zagreb trap
Paris Saint-Germain Handball beat Zagreb 35-31 on Thursday evening on EHF Champions League Matchday 2. Here's a look back at the thrilling encounter!
Le retour de l'@ehfcl à Coubertin !
— PSG Handball (@psghand) September 21, 2023
Notre avant-match de #PSGZAG 👉 https://t.co/bgCmQpl3jR pic.twitter.com/HxvDA2FjlB
On Thursday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball took part in EHF Champions League Matchday 2, Raul Gonzalez's men welcoming Zagreb back to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. Beaten 23-30 at home by Kiel last week, the Croatians changed coach a few days before the trip to Paris, with the arrival of Slavko Goluza. For their part, our team got their European campaign off to a perfect start with a valuable win in Szeged (29-31). But in the Champions League, form doesn't always matter.
Faced with a team looking to bounce back after their opening defeat, Les Rouge et Bleu failed to make the difference in the opening minutes (5': 3-3). Despite the growing strength of our Scandinavian duo (Jacob Holm and Kent Robin Tonnesen) at the back, and also in goal with a penalty saved by Andreas Palicka, the capital club were again stymied by a Croatian side who had come to fight for their lives (11': 7-7). Even when our players had the chance to go +2, they came up against some fine defending (14': 9-8) and even had to chase the game at one point (15': 9-10).
For a very long time, neither of the teams managed to break away (21': 12-12). The visitors' rearguard was extremely solid and it took a long battle to break them down (24': 14-14). Fortunately, the Parisian defence responded well and several shots were also blocked in front of our goal (26': 15-15). Finally, after a burst of acceleration, Paris managed to go +2 thanks to captain Luka Karabatic (28': 17-15). At the break, our team was still leading after a very tight first half (30': 18-16).
C'est la pause à Coubertin, les Rouge et Bleu mènent de 2 buts mais Zagreb rend coup pour coup et n'a pas dit son dernier mot dans le deuxième acte.
— PSG Handball (@psghand) September 21, 2023
Vous avez le temps de vous désaltérer on vous garde une bonne place pour la deuxième période. #PSGZAG pic.twitter.com/5a8wRFDM5X
The second half began as the first had ended: with Paris dominating (34': 21-18). But once again, Zagreb refused to give up and quickly got back into the game (39': 22-21). Thanks to a number of heroic deeds by Luc Steins (who had already been at his best for the first 30 minutes), Les Rouge et Bleu managed to hold on to a lead that was still short of being comfortable (41': 25-23). The lead only started to grow as the final quarter approached. Raul opted for a 5-1 defence, which caused more problems for the visitors' forward line, and the attack took advantage to extend the lead (45': 27-24). The last part of the match, however, proved to be very tense (48': 30-27).
Luc Steins defying gravity 🧑🚀🌕 #ehfcl #clm #DareToRise @psghand pic.twitter.com/riRaRgQGyU
— EHF Champions League (@ehfcl) September 21, 2023
But it still wasn't enough to bring the game to a close (51': 31-30). As the clock ticked down, the capital club took the lead, but every possession had to be converted into a goal, otherwise they could find themselves in danger (54': 33-31). In the final moments, after a battle lasting almost an hour, Zagreb began to break down physically. Jannick Green won several duels to give his team the lead. In the end, Paris Saint-Germain Handball won by four goals for their second victory in as many European matches. Before travelling to Kielce next week, they must face Créteil on Sunday in Liqui Moly StarLigue Round 3.
⏰ Fin du match et 2ème succès consécutif des Rouge et Bleu en @ehfcl dans une rencontre ou Zagreb aura répondu présent de la première à la dernière seconde !
— PSG Handball (@psghand) September 21, 2023
⏳Rendez-vous ce dimanche à Coubertin pour un nouveau derby face à @USCreteilHB #PSGZAG pic.twitter.com/RIIeU7J5Sh
REACTIONS FROM RAUL GONZALEZ, FERRAN SOLE SALA AND DOMINIK MATHÉ:
🎙️ Après la victoire des 🔴🔵 lors de #PSGZAG (35-31), découvrez les réactions de Raul #Gonzalez, Ferran #SoleSala et Dominik #Mathé 👇 pic.twitter.com/sdPdyKyC9u
— PSG Handball (@psghand) September 21, 2023
(Credits: L. Valroff/Team Pics/PSG)