Paris finish strong
The context:
On Sunday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball played their final Velux EHF Champions League group stage match for 2019-20 as Zagreb came calling at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. Following Szeged's defeat against Barcelona (30-28) 24 hours earlier, Les Rouge et Bleu were assured, before kick-off, of finishing second in Group A (which offers some advantages for the next round). The Croatians, meanwhile, needed to win to avoid seeing their European adventure come to an end for the season.
The match:
Faced with solid defences, neither attack managed to get the better of the other in the early stages (7': 3-3). Even when the capital club managed to break the deadlock (thanks to a 7-metre throw from Vincent Gérard), the visitors were soon back in the game (12': 5-5). Moments later, our attacking line seemed to have found the solution against a team that opted for a seven-man attack. Our rear-guard intercepted several balls and our forwards took advantage scored in an empty net on several occasions (17': 10-6). The Croatians showed a lot of aggressiveness, sometimes too much to the taste of the referee, who regularly punished them with temporary send-offs. Raul Gonzalez's men exploited their numerical superiority to the full and extended their lead (24': 15-8) and took a handy lead into the break (30': 17-12).
Unlike in the first half, the second half began with a flurry of goals (33': 19-15) but the trend of sendings off continued - only now for the Parisians (35': 19-16). Our attack also found it harder to beat the vigilance of opposition goalkeeper, Quan Wang. But Vincent had answers! As well as stopping the Croatian's shots on goal, he also took it upon himself to turn scorer at the other end (40': 22-16). The Parisian keeper even scored a double to keep his side well in front (45': 26-19). As the final moments approached, well led by an effective attack and a solid defence, Paris continued to calmly lead the dance (51': 30-23). In the final moments, after a third goal - as well as a few more saves - from Vincent Gérard (53': 32-23), Paris Saint-Germain Handball hung on to win by 11 goals (37-26).
Parisian of the Match: Vincent Gérard
Our last rampart was one of the driving forces behind this win! Vincent devastated the Croatian forwards, making no fewer than 12 saves (at 40% success). But beyond the defensive aspect, the French international also distinguished himself at the other end of the court, scoring three times.
The word: Bucharest
Paris thus finish their group stage in second place in Group A with 20 points. In the Round of 16, they will take on Dinamo Bucharest. The Romanians, who topped Group D, qualified for the next round after a play-off against Sporting (victories 25-26 and 26-24). The matches will take place on the weekends of 20 March (in Romania) and 28 March (in France).
Coming up:
While waiting for the next round, Les Rouge et Bleu will devote themselves to domestic matters, hosting Nimes in their Lidl StarLigue Round 18 clash on Thursday evening before travelling to Dunkirk for their Coupe de France quarter-final on Sunday.
(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)