Paris back on track at Coubertin

Comptes-rendus

Paris Saint-Germain handball continued their perfect start to the Liqui Moly StarLigue season with a 35-29 win over Cesson-Rennes at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on Sunday. We take a look back at this Matchday 12 fixture.

With Raul Gonzalez's men facing a tough schedule in this first half of the season, the capital club returned to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin for the first time in almost a month, with only one more match to play in front of their home fans in the top flight in 2024, against Saint-Raphaël in three weeks' time (20/12). That fact made this match all the more crucial if Paris were to stay top of the standings ahead of a number of tricky away games - in Toulouse (8/12) and at The H arena against Nantes (15/12), who are currently second on the table. Paris knew they had to take this game extremely seriously if they were to continue their perfect record in the Liqui Moly StarLigue.

Despite having been extremely busy of late, the Parisians didn't take long to get into their stride, and they sdid so in style! Be it in attack, with a marvellous solo run from Jacob Holm, or in defence, with Andreas Palicka's first save, Les Rouge et Bleu were on top (5': 3-2). Serious and diligent, the capital club quickly managed to create an initial gap against a Breton side that couldn't seem to hang onto the ball (8': 6-3). Faced with the intensity of Raul Gonzalez's men, Cesson-Rennes decided to act quickly by switching to a seven-man attack. Although they managed to be sharper offensively, the visitors came up against a Parisian defensive block that was perfectly deployed to maintain their lead (13': 9-6).

After starting the game at a frenetic pace, the Parisians hit a slight slump, which convinced Raul Gonzalez to stop play and give his players new instructions (18': 10-9). As is often the case, Les Rouge et Bleu were quick to respond, and it was from the wing that they made the difference, with a double from David Balaguer (21': 12-10). Les Irrreductibles did not let themselves be outdone, however, and showed their mettle to put the score back on level terms (25': 13-13). As the minutes ticked by, the Breton side gave their all and took a one-goal inot hte break. Everything remained to be done in what promised to be an exciting second half (30': 15-16).

Right from the re-start, the substitutes made the difference for Paris. Kamil Syprzak found the netright away, while Jannick Green made two excellent saves (34': 18-16). The capital club were in fine form early the second term, and Kamil made it 2-0 with a superb chabala. Still scoreless after six minutes, Cesson-Rennes decided to call a time-out to try and find some solutions (36': 20-16). But to no avail: the depth of the Parisian squad made all the difference and it was now Yahia Omar who bagged his first goal of the evening. In fine form on the night, Luc Steins found the back of the net from his own half, taking advantage of Jannick's fourth save of the game and the visitors' empty net (40': 23-19). As the final quarter-hour approached, Paris looked to have taken a decisive lead thanks to an imperious attacking and defensive performance since the break (45': 27-21). Ferran Solé, who had been unstoppable since coming on at half-time, increased the lead with a brace that took his tally to six goals this evening (49': 31-23).

Although the outcome was all but decided, Les Rouge et Bleu maintained a high tempo and suffocated the outgunned Bretons (51': 32-24). It was in defence that Paris shone at the end of the match, with Jannick pulling off a brilliant double save to round off their impressive display. After an evenly balanced first half, the capital club had taken advantage of their strength in depth to break clear fro mthe Breton side and claim victory (60': 35-29). It was another team performance for the capital club, who saw 12 of their outfield players find the net. Next up, Raul Gonzalez's men play Dinamo Bucharest in the EHF Champions League on Thursday, and then it's off to Toulouse for their league clash on Sunday.

Reactions from Raul Gonzalez, David Balaguer and Léo Plantin:

(Credits: E. Renard/Team Pics/PSG)