Paris power past Szeged

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The match:
The Parisians got off to a near-perfect start, not conceding a goal and scoring with all their attacks, at times in spectacular fashion - thanks notably to Nikola Karabatic's kung-fu (6': 3-0). In great form in the first half, Niko then powered a shot into Roland Mikkler top corner (10': 5-3). Unfortunately, our team's success was ephemeral and the visitors soon caught up (14': 7-7) before taking the lead (16': 8-9). Niko's talent was still needed to turn the situation around, and the centre-half drew the foul to have both Jorge Maqueda (20': 11-10) and former team-mate, Luka Stepancic (22': 12-11) temporarily sent off. He popped up again a few moments later, throwing himself on a lost ball to regain possession for the capital club (28': 15-14). After a long first-half battle, Paris took a two-point lead into the break (30': 16-14).

At the resumption of play, the match was as evenly balanced ever and the sides continue to slug it out. When Nedim Remili scored with the help of the cross-bar (34': 18-16), Joan Canellas responded immediately with a similar attempt (35': 18-17). But as the minutes went by, the Parisian rear-guard took the measure of the Hungarian attack. The visitors began to stutter, committing offensive fouls and struggling to find a way past the imperious Rodrigo Corrales. At the other end of the court, Paris' attack proved surgical (41': 21-18). Kim Ekdahl du Rietz, beautifully played in by Sander Sagosen, put Les Rouge et Bleu four goals to the good (46': 23-19) - the biggest lead in the match thus far. Raul Gonzalez's men showed a truckloads of desire and did what was necessary to avoid any fear in the last moments (51': 25-20). Fittingly, it was Nikola Karabatic who punctuated the Parisian victory by finding the back of the net on the buzzer (30-25).

At the resumption of play, the match was as evenly balanced ever and the sides continue to slug it out. When Nedim Remili scored with the help of the cross-bar (34': 18-16), Joan Canellas responded immediately with a similar attempt (35': 18-17). But as the minutes went by, the Parisian rear-guard took the measure of the Hungarian attack. The visitors began to stutter, committing offensive fouls and struggling to find a way past the imperious Rodrigo Corrales. At the other end of the court, Paris' attack proved surgical (41': 21-18). Kim Ekdahl du Rietz, beautifully played in by Sander Sagosen, put Les Rouge et Bleu four goals to the good (46': 23-19) - the biggest lead in the match thus far. Raul Gonzalez's men showed a truckloads of desire and did what was necessary to avoid any fear in the last moments (51': 25-20). Fittingly, it was Nikola Karabatic who punctuated the Parisian victory by finding the back of the net on the buzzer (30-25).

The Parisian of the match: Nikola Karabatic
Impressive in all areas of the game, Nikola Karabatic delivered a great performance against Szeged. Offensively, he managed to find the net with all eight of his attempts. Defensively, his work rate and sense of self-sacrifice did his teammates the world of good - notably through his starting several counter-attacks that proved decisive.

The word: Record
Paris Saint-Germain Handball became the first team to reach the mark of 100 group-stage points in the Champions League group stage since the new formula was introduced in 2015-2016. A very good total when you consider that there have only been 116 at stake so far. Paris' nearest rivals in this matter, Barcelona, currently have 94 points.

Coming up:
The matches just keep on coming, as do the switches between competitions. Luka Karabatic and his teammates will be back in action at Coubertin on Wednesday playing host to Toulouse in their Lidl StarLigue Round 4 clash.

(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)