Paris go top with Créteil win

Comptes-rendus

Paris Saint-Germain handball recorded their biggest win of the season on Sunday, clinching a perfect 31-45 victory over Créteil. Here's a look back at this Liqui Moly StarLigue Matchday 7 clash.

After Tremblay (32-40) and Ivry (39-25) over the last two matchdays, Les Rouge et Bleu completed their tour of the Paris region with a third consecutive derby. On Sunday, at the Palais des Sports Robert-Oubron in Créteil, our players were looking to continue their unblemished record in the Liqui Moly StarLigue this season. Despite the busy schedule, Raul Gonzalez's men have gone from strength to strength over recent weeks and now own a five-match win streak across all competitions. That gave them something of a psychological advantage over Créteil, who were looking to end a run of three straight defeats. As ever, the capital club had to deliver a serious performance to avoid falling into the trap set by the club from the Val-de-Marne.

Despite a partisan home crowd, Paris got off to an ideal start in all areas of the game. Two doubles from Ferran Solé Sala and Mathieu Grébille - and a solid start from Jannick Green - saw Les Rouge et Bleu take an early lead (5': 1-6). The home side reacted immediately, stopping play in the hope that Christophe Esparre's tactical adjustments would stop the bleeding. Taking advantage of their rivals‘ numerous ball losses and clumsiness, Paris used their collective strength to extend their lead (11’: 4-10). Even from the penalty line, Jannick Green was doing the home side no favours (15': 7-11).

After a lively first quarter of an hour, the capital club continued to shine. Luc Steins, who had already been directly involved in seven of Les Rouge et Bleu's eleven goals, turned scorer as he single-handedly eliminated Créteil's rearguard. Spearheading the Parisian attack, our centre-half found Elohim Prandi on the counter, and he once again showed his power to put Les Rouge et Bleu up by five (20': 12-17). Despite the large gap on the scoreboard, Raul Gonzalez's men continued at the same pace, putting on a show in Créteil. Jannick made his ninth save of the game with a splendid pastis (28': 15-21) and Paris went into the locker room with an eight-goal lead (30': 17-25).

Raul decided to field several new faces from the start of the second term, with Léo Plantin and Jacob Holm coming on. However, it was Luka Karabatic, our exemplary captain, who was first to shine with a brace (33': 18-27). It wasn't long before Léo found the back of the net as well, helping the capital club to stretch their advantage to ten goals (39': 22-32). Victory seemed assured, but Paris kept up their frenetic pace and everyone took the end of the game seriously, adding to their tally (45': 26-35). With a Champions League clash against Bucharest looming on Thursday, Paris' youngsters were in the limelight in the final 15 minutes, with Noa Narcisse, Wallem Peleka, Gautier Loredon and Léo Plantin all showing what they can do.

The youngsters did the capital club proud, with goals from Noa, Wallem and Gautier in the final minutes (56': 29-42). At the end of a match that Paris controlled throughout, our Rouge et Bleus clincehd as stylish win (60': 31-45) - their biggest ever against Créteil and one in which no fewer than 12 of the 13 outfield players scored. This latest success means that Paris maintain their unblemished record in the league and take sole possession of top spot. Now it's on to Thursday's Champions League clash with Bucharest at Coubertin. Our Parisians will be hoping to see plenty of you there!

Reactions from Raul Gonzalez, Luc Steins and Elohim Prandi:

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